Lean on Me
by Brave orange blossom
Summary: After defeating Jest, Ace hears about Lance's return. He visits him, and they discuss recent events. When Valentine's Day arrives, Ace decides to make chocolate for Lance. He looks around for him and finds him at a spot that Ace is familiar with. He tries to confess, but things go wrong. Lance is amused by Ace's behavior and decides to 'help' him. Set after episode 81. Two shot.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Puzzle and Dragons X/Cross

 **Pairing:** Ace x Lance

 **Author Notes:** This plot bunny was heavily influenced by Aya's Chasing After You story and StarMaidenWarrior's first prompt for EsuRan week on Fanfiction. This story is going to be a two shot. The next chapter will be about Valentine's Day.

In this chapter, Ace and Lance have accepted their feelings for each other. Well, somewhat. Ace is still flustered by his feelings and tries to deny it at times, but he knows that he loves Lance.

This story's setting is in the aftermath of episode 81. I did take some moments from episode 82 and incorporated it into my story, but other than that, this story ignores episode 82 and every episode after that. There are major spoilers for episodes 77 (the concluding episode to the Ace vs. Lance fight) and 81 (storming Jest's castle and vs. Jest episode) as well as minor spoilers for episode 82 (the recent Lance and Devi episode).

 **Lean on Me**

Ace was _not_ nervous.

Yes, his stomach twisted itself into knots, and he could feel his heart racing.

But he wasn't nervous.

Really, he wasn't.

He was… excited.

He groaned, resisting the urge to bury his face in his hands as his cheeks heated up.

That… didn't come out well.

Someone might think he had… other intentions or feelings deeper than friendship for the person he was about to visit.

Why?

He was about to see his rival again.

It had been a while since he had seen Lance. The last time he had seen him, it had been when he saved him and watched him sink into the sea.

That memory made him swallow the large lump that formed.

Of course, he had known ahead of time that Lance was alright.

(Surprisingly, it was thanks to Tamazo. Tamazo had been confident that Devi would look after Lance. And Ace believed him. Lance's monsters were devoted to him. He knew that they would save and look after Lance.)

But he hadn't been able to stop his concern and his want to see the other boy.

It must've shown on his face because it had gotten to a point where Garnet (of all people) had told him to stop moping and to visit Lance.

She had also grumbled something about how he was terrible at hiding his feelings.

He had replied that he had no idea what she was talking about, but he was unable to stop himself from looking away from her knowing gaze, cheeks flushing.

He cursed, feeling his cheeks heat up.

This wasn't good.

He couldn't greet Lance with flushed cheeks. His rival would wonder if something was wrong.

And worrying Lance (especially when he was still recovering) was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Ace? What's wrong, tama?"

He jumped, turning his head to his left. Upon seeing Tamazo floating beside him, he gasped. "Tamazo! You startled me!"

Tamazo huffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Tama has been here the whole time, tama. Don't ignore me, tama."

Ace smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry, Tamazo. I got lost in my thoughts."

"I'll say, tama! Ace wouldn't respond even when Tama mentioned an all you can eat buffet."

Ace shook his head, smiling fondly. "You thought food would snap me out of my thoughts?"

Why wasn't he surprised?

Tamazo placed his hands on his hips and puffed his chest out. "It would work for me, tama!"

Ace couldn't stop himself from snorting. "Of course it would."

He was certain that his partner was the only one who could get lost in thought about food and brought back to reality at the mention of it.

"By the way, Ace… Why are you standing in front of this door, tama?"

Ace's eyes widened, letting out a gasp as he belatedly realized where he was. He turned his head to look at the object in front of him.

He was still standing in front of the closed door that led to Lance's room.

Well, it wasn't _Lance's_ room.

His grandma had set up a temporary room in her house, and she had allowed Lance to rest in it until he got his strength back.

After defeating Jest (with Dafnes' help), Ace and his friends helped rebuild Exscion. While taking a break from rebuilding, Garnet had approached him, telling him about Lance's return.

How Garnet had gotten the information, he didn't know. All Garnet had said when he asked was that she had connections.

While Ace had trouble believing it at first (since the news was coming from Garnet), he and Tamazo had flown back to Crocus and asked Vahaton to confirm the news.

Vahaton had confirmed the news, telling Ace not to spread the news around. The citizens of Crocus knew that Lance had been the one to attack them and hadn't forgiven him for it yet.

Ace had protested, defending Lance by saying that it wasn't Lance's fault and that it was the star fragment and Jest's fault.

Vahaton had agreed, looking sad. He had quickly changed the subject and told Ace that Lance was resting at his grandma's place and to go visit him. Smiling cheekily, he had added that he was certain that Lance would like it if he visited him.

Noticing the knowing look in the other's eyes, Ace's cheeks had flushed pink, stammering that it wasn't like that.

Before Vahaton could say anything more (and embarrass him further), Ace had quickly excused himself from the room, calling his grandma as he did so. As he had left the room, he could've sworn he heard Vahaton laughing.

His grandma had immediately agreed when he asked if he could visit Lance.

By the time he reached his grandma's house, the sun had set. Stars had dotted the black sky, and the full moon had shined brightly, lighting up everything around them.

His grandma had welcomed him, and after a short chat, she had escorted him to the room Lance was resting in. She had told him to take his time, and after asking him if he wanted to stay the night, she had said good night and walked away, leaving Ace and Tamazo in front of the door.

He didn't know how long he had been standing in front of the door. He remembered lifting a hand to knock, and for some reason, his hand stopped before it could make contact with the wooden door.

Telling himself that it was just Lance did nothing to soothe the nerves.

No.

He was not nervous.

He was excited.

Nodding determinedly to himself, he raised a hand once more. His hand was about to make contact, but he stopped at the last second.

Maybe…

No. It couldn't be possible.

His grandma had told him that it was alright to visit Lance.

But still…

Maybe he would be bothering Lance.

And he also knew that Lance would push himself if he knew Ace came to visit him.

That guy was stubborn and had a bad habit of pushing himself when he should be resting.

He bit his bottom lip worriedly, letting his hand fall back to his side.

Maybe this was a bad idea.

"We're not going in, tama?" Tamazo said, confused.

Ace glanced over at him before nodding. "This was a bad idea. Lance needs his rest. We can visit him another time."

"But Aceeee!" Tamazo whined.

Ace turned his head to look at Tamazo and lifted a finger to his mouth. "Shh, Tamazo! Lance and Grandma might be sleeping."

"After all that time of standing out here, you aren't even going inside, tama? You aren't Ace, tama! Where did Ace go, tama?"

Ace rolled his eyes at his partner's dramatic reaction, but before he could shush him once more, a familiar voice cut into their conversation.

"Shut up, devi! Hurry up and come inside, or get lost, devi! You two are too noisy, devi!"

Ace gasped at hearing Devi's voice from behind the door.

If Devi was still awake, did that mean Lance was still awake?

"You are the one who is too noisy, tama. We can hear you through the door, tama," Tamazo complained.

Ace lifted a finger to his lips once more. "Shh, Tamazo! Grandma might be sleeping!" he hissed. Wanting to stop the inevitable argument between the two Tamadora, he turned his head back to the door and took a deep breath. After letting it out and nodding to himself, his hand formed a fist and knocked on the door.

"Hurry up and come in, devi!"

Ace turned the doorknob, his heart racing at the thought of seeing Lance again.

The door creaked as he opened it, making him wince. The door was only open a few inches when his ears picked up a familiar low voice scolding Devi.

He stopped in the middle of opening the door. He closed his eyes, listening to the melodic voice.

"Ace? Aren't you going in, tama?" Tamazo said, confused.

Why did Ace stop in the middle of opening the door?

Ace was acting weird.

Ace snapped out of the trance he was in at Tamazo's voice. He looked at Tamazo and narrowed his eyes. "I was just about to. Can't you be patient?"

That wasn't fair of him, and he knew it.

He knew he was acting strangely.

But he couldn't help it.

He was about to see Lance again.

Tamazo looked at him confused and a little hurt at his reaction, making Ace feel guilty.

As he continued opening the door, he made a mental note to himself to apologize to his partner later.

Once the door was open, he walked inside the room. After confirming that Tamazo was with him, he closed the door, turning to face the rest of the room.

There wasn't much in the spare room.

He could see a small dark brown wooden chest to the left of him and a small dark brown wooden desk. The desk was next to the left wall near the large window in front of him.

Someone had pulled the curtains back, allowing the bright moonlight of the full moon to permeate through the window. He could see a wooden chair of the same color near the desk.

And on top of the desk was a familiar looking blue object.

His eyes widened, recognizing the object.

It was Lance's cloak.

"Took you long enough, devi."

At the sound of Devi's voice, Ace turned his head to look at the right wall for the first time.

He could see a dark brown wooden bed situated near the window. He noted in the back of his mind that it reminded him of the bed in his room.

The sheets were blue instead of white, and the person sitting up in bed was…

"Lance…"

Lance gave Devi (who sat on the bed in front of him) a scolding look, but his golden eyes expressing his amusement gave away that he didn't mean it.

Truthfully, he agreed with Devi. He had been waiting impatiently for Ace to come in.

What had taken him so long?

He looked over at Ace, letting his eyes linger on the bandages wrapped around the other's head for several moments before looking into Ace's bright blue eyes.

Ace's eyes sparkled at the sight of Lance, and he couldn't stop the bright grin from forming on his face.

Lance smiled a small smile, beckoning him over with one hand.

Ace's bright grin remained on his face as he walked further into the room. After grabbing the chair and setting it next to the bed, he sat down. Instead of sitting normally, though, he sat on the edge of the seat, wanting to be as close to the bed as possible.

He would've sat on the bed, but he didn't want to invade Lance's personal space without his permission.

Lance smirked, amused. Instead of saying something, though, he looked away from Ace and at Devi.

Devi understood the look and nodded. "Roger, Lance-sama," he said, getting up and flying over to Tamazo. "Come on, white dumpling. Let's give them some privacy, devi."

Ace's cheeks, which had thankfully returned to their normal color before entering the room, flushed pink.

Lance, who had looked back at Ace after looking at Devi, couldn't stop his amused smirk at Ace's reaction.

Tamazo looked at Devi, confused. He was about to respond, but his eyes noticed the full moon out of the corner of his eyes. His eyes lit up, turning to look at it. "Let's go look at the moon outside, tama! Maybe if we're lucky, we'll get to try some of its cheese, tama!"

Devi felt understandably confused at Tamazo's words. Cheese from the moon? What was the white dumpling talking about? "I have no idea what you're talking about, but fine, devi. We've got to be careful, though, devi."

Tamazo tilted his head, confused. "Careful, tama?"

Devi looked around exaggeratedly before leaning in closer. "They say that Fenrir likes to show up on nights of the full moon and attack people and monsters, devi," he said, unable to stop his smirk at Tamazo's horrified look.

It was only a rumor. Devi doubted Fenrir would show up here of all places.

But he purposefully neglected to tell the white dumpling that information, wanting to scare him.

Tamazo shivered, but a few moments later, he hit his chest with one arm. "L-Leave it to Tama, tama! I-If Fenrir shows up, Tama will protect us, tama."

Devi snorted. "You couldn't protect us from a monster like that even if your life depended on it, devi," he said, turning and flying over to the door.

Tamazo quickly joined him, eyes narrowing. "What's that supposed to mean, tama? Tama could do it!" His eyes lit up as he thought of an idea. "We could fight together, tama! Fenrir wouldn't stand a chance against both of us, tama!" He punched the air enthusiastically with one arm.

Devi opened the door, rolling his eyes. "It's amazing how much confidence you have, devi." He flew out of the room, gesturing for Tamazo to follow him.

Tamazo giggled, following him out of the room. "Thank you for the compliment, tama!"

Devi closed the door after Tamazo joined him, scowling. "It wasn't a compliment, devi!"

The two Tamadora continued speaking in loud voices as they made their way down the hallway, making Lance shake his head.

Those two would never change.

What if they woke up Angine-san?

He would have to scold Devi later.

He looked back at Ace, noticing the worried look on his face as the brunet looked at the door. "Don't bother worrying about them."

Ace blinked a few times before turning his head to look at Lance, confused and slightly upset. "What do you mean? There is nothing wrong with worrying about them. Aren't you worried about Devi? He is still recovering."

Lance shook his head again, eyes softening at the worry in Ace's eyes. "It's only a rumor. Fenrir won't show up."

Despite his worry for their partners, Ace couldn't help but feel intrigued. "I've never heard of this rumor before. Are you sure it's just a rumor?"

Lance nodded. He wasn't surprised Ace had never heard of the rumor before. "The Guild only told the Dragonoid Dragon Callers about the rumor. They believed that Fenrir wouldn't attack the human Dragon Callers."

Ace furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

"The Guild believed that Fenrir would only attack strong Dragon Callers. Not weak ones," Lance said.

He purposefully neglected to mention that the Guild had wanted to tell Ace about the rumor (since he was one of the strongest human Dragon Callers), but Lance had immediately shot down the suggestion, not wanting Ace to worry about silly rumors.

In his opinion, it was a silly rumor. The Guild hadn't had any proof or any sightings of Fenrir.

He had pushed the rumor to the back of his mind, believing that it was a waste of time and hadn't thought about it until now.

Truthfully, he didn't understand why the Guild told them about the rumor.

All it did was cause fear, anxiety, and panic among the Dragonoid Dragon Callers.

Ace's eyes narrowed, his hands forming fists by his sides. "What's up with that?" He knew Lance wasn't intentionally insulting him or his friends, but he couldn't stop the anger. "There are strong human Dragon Callers, or have they forgotten about both Battle Cups?"

What about him?

Did the Guild think he was weak because he was human?

Surprisingly, Lance smiled a small smile. "Like you."

Ace's anger melted at the acknowledgment, his cheeks blushing at the other's words and soft look. "Y-You can't just say things like that without warning," he said, feeling embarrassed but also pleased.

Lance had acknowledged him as his equal before, but he had never told him out loud that he thought Ace was strong.

Lance chuckled, tempted to pull him closer.

He quickly pushed the temptation away. He didn't want to scare Ace away.

"The Guild told us after the first Battle Cup, and there was no chance to after the second Battle Cup." Lance frowned, feeling guilt pool in his stomach as Ace's expression changed.

Instead of looking flustered (and a little pleased), Ace's eyes had darkened, a scowl on his face. "You don't need to tell me that," he muttered, giving him a pointed look. His expressive blue eyes expressed his anger and sadness.

Lance's sharp ears easily picked up the mutter. "If you are still angry about my actions in Crocus—"

"I'm not angry about that!" Ace said, causing Lance to narrow his eyes. Ace paused for a few moments before amending himself. "… Okay. Fine. I am. But that's not what I'm talking about." At Lance's confused look, he brushed the hair away from his face agitatedly. "Why would you… ask me to do something like that?"

Lance's eyes widened, understanding what Ace was talking about. His eyes quickly returned to their normal calm state. "That was your duty."

"Don't give me that!" Ace snapped. He couldn't believe Lance was calm about this. It was unfair and infuriating. He stood up and began pacing next to the bed.

Lance watched him, longing to reach out and pull Ace to him. When his hands started reaching out of its own accord, he shoved them under the covers, hoping Ace didn't notice.

Ace was oblivious to Lance's action. He was too busy pacing to notice. "I don't want to hear it. You have no idea what I went through." He stopped pacing and sat back down on the chair, pointing at Lance. "If there was another way—"

"There wasn't."

Ace glared at him, letting his arm drop back to his side. "If there was another way, I would've done it. Without hesitation." When Lance only looked at him coolly, he grit his teeth. "Why would you give up? Why would you leave your fate in my hands?"

Lance glared an icy glare at him. "I did not give up. There was simply no other way. I had to atone for my actions."

"Don't give me that! Do you even realize what I went through?" Ace snapped. "What I was feeling when you told me to… end it?" He cursed silently as his voice shook, looking away from the other's intense gaze.

Lance's eyes softened at the way Ace's voice shook, his heart clenching at Ace's pain. His hands left the safety of the covers, and this time, he couldn't stop himself from reaching out.

He hissed as the movement made his injuries start throbbing, pausing in the middle of his action. He breathed in deeply and let it out, hoping the pain would die down. Once the worst of the pain died down, he continued the action, gritting his teeth at the dull pain that lingered.

Thankfully, Ace was oblivious to the pain that he was in and looked at him with wide eyes when he finally placed his hands on his shoulders.

Hiding the pain from Ace, he gave him a concerned look. "Ace…"

Looking into Lance's concerned eyes, Ace felt the rest of his anger melt. He breathed in deeply then let it out slowly. "Please don't make me do it again." He stopped himself from whimpering, but he was unable to stop his voice or his body from shaking. "I… I wouldn't be able to take it," he said in a hoarse voice.

Lance longed to pull Ace into his arms and comfort him, but he knew it wasn't right.

Ace only saw him as a friend and rival.

It would be weird if he hugged Ace when he had never done it before.

Pushing away his depressing thoughts, he focused on Ace once more. His heart clenched at the obvious pain Ace was in, and a part of him demanded that he comfort the brunet.

But how?

He didn't know how to comfort Ace.

While there was a part of him hoping his presence and touch were comforting Ace, he knew he had to do more. "I'm alright," he muttered, hoping that was enough.

He was still recovering from injuries, and it hurt whenever he moved.

But he was still alive, and that's what mattered most.

Ace bit his bottom lip, wanting to yell at him that he wasn't alright. He resisted the temptation, not wanting to wake up his grandma.

Besides, this was between them.

Getting other people involved wasn't something he wanted, and he had a feeling Lance didn't want it either.

Lance raised an eyebrow, noticing that Ace wanted to protest. The strange thing was that he wasn't speaking, though. Watching Ace's eyes glance in the direction of the door, he understood why Ace wasn't protesting. He was unable to stop the soft, fond look in his eyes. "I'm alright, idiot."

Ace glared at him, eyes glistening with unshed tears.

Lance hated that he found the sight beautiful. With the light of the full moon illuminating his expression and giving him an ethereal glow, it made it seem as if Ace were a god or some moon spirit.

But Ace wasn't the moon or a moon spirit.

He was the sun.

And Lance had fought his sun, convinced he had to destroy the world to save it.

 _No_.

Ace wasn't _his_ sun.

Ace was _everyone's_ sun.

He, of all people, couldn't be selfish and keep his precious sun to himself. He had upset and hurt a lot of people. Including Ace.

He was certain everyone was finding it hard to forgive him, and he understood there were some people who would never forgive him.

What he did was unforgivable.

But he couldn't stop himself from reaching out and trying to feel the light and warmth Ace gave off.

Darkness suited him. He had seen many dark things in his past, and every time he tried to fix things or make things better, he would hurt his surroundings and those who were in them.

Light… _Ace's light_ … would only hurt him. He didn't deserve to, nor could he coexist with his sun even though he wanted it more than anything. But there couldn't be both light and darkness.

Only one.

But he didn't care.

He wanted to protect his light. His light had saved him and gave him hope in the dark world that they lived in.

Ace was his hope, his light, his sun, and… _his love_.

He snapped out of his thoughts at seeing Ace gritting his teeth.

" _You_ are _not_ alright!" Ace hissed. How could Lance be so… _calm_ about this?

It was unfair how calm Lance was about this, and it was unfair how he was the only one expressing his emotions.

Tears started falling from his eyes, but he kept the glare on his face.

"Do you even _realize_ what I felt when Ana told me what I had to do?"

Never mind that he already had a bad feeling that it would come down to that. Ana's words had shattered something inside him, and it had taken all his willpower not to show it on his face and to reassure her that he would take care of it.

What if something had gone wrong?

Where would he be now?

Not with Devi. And not with him.

No. He would've _died_.

Lance raised an eyebrow at the mention of the pink haired girl. He remembered meeting up with her shortly after his fight with Vahaton. She had acted stranger than usual. He didn't remember seeing her after that, but according to Ace, she had returned to talk to him.

What a reckless girl.

"What did Ana say?" he said, letting go of one of his shoulders to wipe away Ace's tears.

Ace closed his eyes, feeling Lance's touch. He breathed in deeply then let it out shakily.

What was he doing?

Lance was here with him.

Yet he couldn't stop crying.

"She said that I had to break the star fragment, but if I did it…" Ace paused, closing his eyes and breathing in deeply to try and compose himself. It didn't work. Instead of words escaping his mouth, a choked sob escaped from his throat.

Lance's heart clenched at the choked sob, moving his free hand back to Ace's shoulder. As much as he wanted to tug Ace into his arms, he knew Ace wanted to keep going.

Ace had brought up the subject for a reason.

He squeezed his shoulder, hoping it would comfort him. When Ace opened his eyes to look at him, he gave him an encouraging and expectant look.

Ace nodded, hesitantly reaching up to hold onto one of Lance's hands. He tried to move Lance's hand off his shoulder to show what he wanted, but Lance's grip was stubborn. After a few tries, he gave up and gave Lance a pleading look.

Understanding what Ace wanted, Lance let go of one of his shoulders and grabbed one of Ace's hands.

Ace almost jumped at the sparks that came with the contact. It must've shown in his eyes that Lance had surprised him because in the next moment, Lance was letting go. He quickly reached out and grabbed Lance's hand, holding onto it in a firm but soft grip.

When Lance looked at him questioningly, Ace nodded, squeezing his hand.

Lance looked into his eyes, searching for something. He seemingly found what he was looking for because he nodded back a few moments later.

Ace felt stronger with Lance at his side. With Lance, he could do anything or fight anyone. "Ana said that if I broke the star fragment, there was a possibility…" He paused, letting out another shaky breath and drawing strength from squeezing Lance's hand. "There… There was a possibility that your heart… your heart might…" His upper lip quivered, another choked sob escaping his lips.

He didn't want to say it out loud.

Saying it out loud confirmed that it could've happened. If he didn't say it out loud, he could pretend everything was alright because it didn't happen.

When Lance only gave him an encouraging look, he glared at him, feeling annoyed. "You could've _died_!" Lance's eyes widened at his loud voice, making him glance to the door. In the next moment, Lance's eyes had returned to their normal calm state. It was unfair. "You could've died," he said in a softer voice. More tears fell down his cheeks. "Do you understand that?"

Lance nodded, golden eyes looking serious. "I know."

"Why are you so calm about this? Do you even care?" When Lance only looked at him coolly, he raised his free hand and jabbed him in his chest with one finger. "You are so infuriating!"

Lance had the nerve to smirk at him, amusement in his golden eyes.

"This isn't _funny_!" Ace hissed, jabbing him once more. "Don't you dare do something like that again!"

Lance blinked, surprised. His eyes expressed his amusement. "Are you threatening me?"

"Of course I am! I can't lose you!" Belatedly, Ace realized what he had said. Feeling his cheeks heat up, he coughed and looked away to hide his face.

That… didn't come out the way he wanted it to.

What would Lance think?

If Ace had kept his attention on Lance, he would've seen a rare gentle smile on the older boy's face.

Unable to stop himself any longer, he tugged Ace by his hand. Ace let out a small surprised noise as Lance pulled him closer. Once he was close enough, Lance let go of his hand and shoulder and wrapped his arms around him in a warm and protective embrace.

Ace blinked, looking up at the other boy confused. "L-Lance?"

Lance knew he should answer and tell Ace why he pulled him into his arms, but he was savoring this moment. Who knew when he would get to have Ace in his arms again? He closed his eyes, breathing in Ace's comforting scent.

Ace wasn't sure why Lance had hugged him, but he finally decided that he didn't care. He was going to savor this moment for as long as it lasted.

He hid his face in Lance's shoulder, and his arms wrapped around the other's back, clinging desperately to the comfort and support the older boy was giving him. The tears were making visible wet marks on Lance's black shirt.

Feeling Ace starting to shake and hearing his muffled sobs, Lance opened his eyes and held him closer, wishing he could protect Ace from the pain. Belatedly, he realized that _he_ was the reason Ace was in pain and felt like cursing.

He released one of his arms, making Ace whimper unconsciously at the loss of contact. Lance's shirt muffled the whimper, but Lance had no trouble hearing it. He shushed him gently, moving his arm up to Ace's hair. Carefully avoiding the bandages wrapped around the other's head, his hand caressed Ace's hair soothingly, hoping it would alleviate his pain.

"I'm here," Lance murmured. "I'm alive."

He was _alive_.

And it was all thanks to Ace.

Devi played a part in snapping him back to his senses, but when it came to who saved him and reminded him that the world was still glittering…

That was all Ace.

Ace had genuinely caught him off guard when he told him that _he_ had been the one to teach Ace that the world was glittering.

He had stopped attacking to listen to Ace, and it wasn't until Ace's final attack that he realized that he didn't want to destroy the world.

Not Ace's glittering world. He couldn't do it.

Maybe that was why his final attack wasn't as powerful compared to his other attacks. Ace had beat him when it came to putting everything into his attack.

And those feelings of wanting to save him, wanting to stop him, wanting to save the world, and protect his friends had helped Ace beat him.

Devi and the rest of his monsters played a big part in rescuing him when he fell underwater, but Ace was the one who beat him and returned him to his normal self.

He closed his eyes, resisting the urge to grit his teeth and breathed in Ace's comforting scent.

What would he have done without Ace?

His arm tightened around Ace's waist. Ace probably didn't realize it, but just as he was seeking comfort and support from him, _he_ was seeking comfort and support from Ace.

Some part of him that couldn't relax until everything was over and had been hurting when he realized he could've died finally relaxed. He still felt the pain, but it had lessened to a dull pain.

It wasn't something he would forget anytime soon (and he wouldn't want to, considering how many people he had hurt and how much damage he had caused), but he felt as if Ace had healed him.

His external injuries still needed time to heal, but Ace had helped with his internal injuries.

And that meant the world to him.

Hearing Ace starting to quiet down and feeling his body stop shaking, Lance opened his eyes and paused in the middle of his soothing motion.

Ace lifted his head from the other boy's shoulder, smiling a watery and sheepish smile. He wasn't sure if it was thanks to Lance's presence or something else, but he felt his tears drying up. And a few moments later, his tears stopped.

Lance shook his head, wordlessly saying Ace didn't have to apologize. He smiled a small smile. "I can't lose you either," he murmured, watching as Ace's eyes widened.

It didn't take long for Ace to start blushing much to Lance's amusement. Ace's eyes started sparkling and a bright grin lit up his face.

Ace opened his mouth to say something, but he belatedly realized he was still in Lance's arms and immediately let out a squeak. He quickly let go of Lance and pulled away from the other boy.

Lance felt disappointed that Ace was pulling away from him, but he understood that Ace was feeling embarrassed. He reluctantly let his arms fall back to his sides.

But he had just gotten Ace in his arms.

Did he really want to let him go?

Especially without a fight?

As Ace was pulling back presumably to sit back down on the chair, Lance reached out with one hand, grabbed Ace's wrist, and pulled Ace back towards him in one quick motion.

Ace let out a surprised noise as Lance pulled him forward, not having enough momentum or balance to resist the motion. That didn't mean he didn't try, though. He tried to pull away, but it was to no avail.

Ace crashed into Lance, their bodies colliding due to the motion.

Ace immediately yelped, bringing his free hand up to touch the area around his ribs. He closed his eyes and groaned, feeling the injuries under the clothing and bandages start throbbing.

Lance, who had hissed and grit his teeth as the area around his ribs started throbbing, immediately looked at Ace upon hearing his groan.

He let go of Ace's wrist and moved his hands to the front of Ace's body, hovering around the area that Ace was pressing against, hesitant to touch it and aggravate the injuries more than he already had. His eyes expressed his concern and a little sadness. "Are you alright?"

Ace nodded, speaking in between grit teeth. "I'm alright." His eyes opened, noticing the emotions in Lance's eyes. He reached out with one hand, hissing as it aggravated his injuries. Lance narrowed his eyes at him, clearly telling him to stop. Ignoring him, he grabbed one of Lance's hands and squeezed it, giving him a small smile. "Sorry to worry you. I'm alright."

Lance shook his head, feeling guilt pool in his stomach. "It's not your fault."

Noticing the regret in the other's eyes, Ace's eyes softened. "It is alright. The pain is gone now." When Lance only gave him an unconvinced look, he winced and smiled sheepishly. "… For the most part." He could still feel the pain, but it had lessened to a dull pain.

Lance hummed, letting his eyes linger on their joined hands. He looked back up at Ace, eyes hardening. "Idiot. You should've told me that you were injured."

Ace frowned. "There was no time. Besides, I would've thought you had already guessed that I would be injured." He raised his eyebrows mockingly. "You knew I was going to fight Jest. What, did the white bandages around my head not give away that I was injured?"

Lance narrowed his eyes, but his response died in his throat at the mention of Jest.

Ace had gotten those injuries while fighting Jest?

He had let Ace fight Jest by himself.

Why did he do that?

He should've been there, fighting alongside Ace and protecting him.

Ace blinked, surprised. Was there something wrong with Lance? Normally, he would've responded back by now (even if the response was only an icy glare).

But Lance was only staring at him. His eyes kept glancing back and forth from the bandages around his head to the area around his ribs.

Those beautiful golden eyes expressed shame and regret.

Understanding what was wrong, Ace shook his head, smiling softly at his rival. "It isn't your fault. You had to heal."

Lance looked away shamefully. "I should've been there. I didn't want you… to go in that battle alone. Not with _him_ as an opponent."

"I wasn't alone. I had our friends with me." Ace paused before amending himself. "Well, our friends weren't with me when I fought Jest, but they were with me when we stormed Jest's castle." He smiled sheepishly. "I wanted it to be just Tamazo and I, but they wouldn't let us go alone."

Lance nodded, looking back at Ace. Looking out for his friends and trying to protect them from getting hurt… That was Ace.

Ace smiled when he noticed Lance was looking at him again. He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. "And well… These injuries… Not all of them were from my fight with Jest." When Lance only looked at him confused, his free hand brushed the hair away from his face. "Some of my injuries were from my fight with Kroell."

Lance narrowed his eyes at the mention of the whip wielding Dragonoid, resisting the urge to growl. _He_ was the one who had hurt Ace?

Dominion… No…

 _Kroell_ was lucky he wasn't there.

He wouldn't have let him off easy for hurting Ace.

"Kroell had formed a contract with a monster, causing him to get stronger. I… didn't stand a chance against him. None of my attacks caused any damage," Ace said, looking down to his lap. His free hand formed a fist, remembering how he had attacked over and over, feeling disbelief as he saw Kroell unharmed.

"You said you fought against Jest," Lance said. Did someone help Ace when he was fighting Kroell?

Ace looked up and nodded. "Yeah. Well, sort of. Jest interrupted my fight with Kroell to finish me off." Lance narrowed his eyes once more, but before he could speak, Ace moved closer.

"And that's when things got crazy! Jest was about to eat me," Ace said, pausing to shiver at the memory. Tempted to growl, Lance reached out and pulled Ace closer to him. "But Dafnes-sama saved me." He smiled at his rival, not resisting as Lance pulled him closer.

Once Ace was near Lance's lap, he let go of him, not wanting to accidentally hurt Ace. He blinked, surprised. "Dafnes-sama?"

She had saved Ace?

But how?

Wasn't she already dead?

Ace grinned. "Yeah. I was surprised too. I don't know how, but she saved me." He blinked a few times, bringing a hand up to hold his head. "Truthfully, I don't remember much after that. I remember that Jest was about to eat me, but Dafnes-sama's darkness suddenly appeared."

He frowned, trying to remember what came next. "After the monster that Kroell formed a contract with attacked Jest and disappeared, Dafnes-sama's darkness started growing bigger until it swallowed all of us. I must've passed out because next thing I know, Tamazo was holding onto me and lowering us to the ground."

Tamazo had struggled with his weight, and as they were rebuilding Exscion, Tamazo had brought it up, saying that Ace was fat.

Ace had glared at him, flicking him in the forehead before turning around with puffed cheeks and saying that he wasn't fat.

If anything, Ace thought, _Tamazo_ was the one who should be fat, considering how much he ate.

But Tamazo never seemed to gain weight.

It was strange.

Lance nodded. "You got lucky Dafnes-sama helped when she did." Unnoticed by Ace, he grit his teeth, resisting the urge to form a fist with his free hand.

If Dafnes-sama hadn't stepped in, Ace would've been…

He pushed that thought to the back of his mind, refusing to finish that thought.

Besides, Ace was with him. He was _alive_.

He was still healing from his fight, but he was alive.

Speaking of injuries…

Lance's gaze focused on the area around Ace's ribs.

"Yeah. She picked the perfect time to save me. I'm very grateful to her," Ace said, letting his head go and smiling. He blinked as he noticed Lance wasn't paying attention.

Before he could ask if something was wrong, the other's free hand reached out and gently touched the red hoodie around his ribs.

Any response Ace could've made died in his throat at the soft look on Lance's face. He was imagining that soft, tender look, right?

Lance gently brushed the area with one finger before moving to the edge of his hoodie. He looked back up at Ace, biting back his smirk at the wide-eyed look on Ace's face. He cleared his throat intentionally, unable to stop his smirk as Ace jumped, seemingly returning to reality.

 _Interesting_.

He tugged at the edge of Ace's hoodie. When Ace only gave him a confused look, he resisted the urge to roll his eyes and tugged again. "Take this off."

Ace blinked, looking at him dumbly. Take it… off? What was Lance talking about?

Wait…

Take it off?

When Lance tugged impatiently once more, his cheeks flushed pink. "Y-You want me… to _what_?" he squeaked, wishing he could hide his face.

Lance smirked, amused. Did Ace just… _squeak_? "Take it off, idiot." When Ace only spluttered and didn't say anything intelligent, he smirked an impish smirk. "I could do it for you."

Ace swallowed nervously at noticing the mischievous light in Lance's eyes. Why did that look seem to suit him?

Who was he kidding?

Lance was always cool no matter what he did or said.

When Lance only raised an eyebrow, he hastily shook his head, pushing away any thoughts of… Lance being cool to the back of his mind.

There must be something wrong with him if he liked the sight of Lance's smirk. He couldn't deny that Lance looked attractive with his smirk, though.

He cursed silently. _Not helping, Ace_.

Lance moved his free hand to Ace's zipper. "I don't mind, you know," he murmured. "If you don't want to do it yourself, I'll do it."

But before he could pull Ace's zipper down, Ace's hand grabbed his hand, making him pause.

Ace had his face down, hiding his pink face. Lance noticed with amusement that even Ace's ears were pink.

Ace looked up at him, silently gesturing towards his zipper.

Guessing that meant Ace wanted to do it himself, Lance pulled his hand away, respecting his decision. A part of him felt disappointed at the wasted opportunity, though.

Ace gulped, feeling Lance's eyes on him. He reluctantly let go of Lance's hand and unzipped his hoodie. Noticing Lance's expectant look, he let out a nervous breath before taking off the hoodie and throwing it off the bed.

Lance reached out and gently touched Ace's white and blue long sleeved striped shirt. Noticing he had Ace's attention, he brushed his finger around the area of Ace's ribs before moving his hand down and tugging on the edge of it.

Ace's eyes widened, barely stopping himself from squeaking once more. His shirt too?

He shook his head, hastily wrapping his arms around himself to prevent Lance from taking it off. "W-Why do you want my shirt off?"

Belatedly, he realized he _probably_ should've asked this before he took off his hoodie.

Oops.

It was Lance's fault.

That guy was so… demanding and pushy at times.

Lance felt amused that Ace was only just now asking why he wanted him to take off his clothes. What an idiot. "Let me see your injury."

Noticing the amused look in his eyes, Ace resisted the urge to bury his hands in his face. "I-I can pull up my shirt. You can look at it that way."

Unfortunately, Lance shook his head. "Take it off." His impish smirk returned to his face. "Or do you want me to do it?"

Ace scowled, cursing under his breath. He breathed in deeply then let it out. He coughed at the expectant look in Lance's eyes, his eyes looking away and his hands grabbing the edge of his shirt. He swallowed at feeling Lance's unwavering gaze before taking his shirt off and setting it next to him.

He would have to get his revenge later.

How he was going to get his revenge, he didn't know yet.

But he would definitely get it.

Determinedly looking away from Lance, he jumped as he felt Lance's hand gingerly touch the bandages wrapped around his body. He looked up, eyes wide. His response died in his throat at noticing that the shame, regret, and sadness from earlier had returned to those beautiful eyes.

Rolling his eyes at how cautious Lance was being, he inched closer and grabbed Lance's hand. Lance blinked, looking surprised. Ace moved Lance's hand and laid it on top of the bandages. "Stop being so cautious. I'm not fragile," Ace grumbled.

Lance's gaze lingered on the hand on top of his for a few moments before he looked at him, shaking his head. "I don't want to hurt you."

Ace's heart started racing. If there was any chance of his cheeks returning to their normal color, it had disappeared due to Lance's honest, tender words.

"… Idiot. You won't hurt me," he muttered, looking away. "If you want to touch me, just do it."

Normally, Lance would've said something about Ace calling him an idiot or maybe try to tease Ace about what he just said, but he couldn't find it in himself to do it.

He watched as Ace's hand let go of his, Ace still looking away. He tentatively touched the bandages, glancing up to confirm that he wasn't hurting the younger boy. He frowned, applying a light pressure as his other hand reached out and wrapped his arm around Ace's bare shoulders.

Ace gasped at feeling Lance's cold fingers on his bare skin, shivering at the temperature from the other's fingers as well as the temperature in the room. Unconsciously, he moved towards the closest source of heat.

Upon hearing Ace's gasp, Lance looked up at him. He was about to ask if he hurt him when Ace came closer. His eyes widened before quickly returning to their normal calm state. Seeing his chance, he picked Ace up and placed him in his lap.

Forgetting about the injury for the time being (since he now had something far more interesting to touch and look at), his free arm reached up and wrapped around Ace's shoulders. He smirked, amused as Ace gasped once more, the brunet's eyes closing and his head leaning on his shoulder.

Did Ace even realize that he was sitting in his lap?

He was an idiot, so he probably didn't realize it yet.

Ace didn't know where he was. And he didn't care. All he knew was that Lance was _warm_. He pressed closer, his arms wrapping around Lance's back.

Lance chuckled as Ace pressed closer to him, feeling him shiver. When he demanded that Ace take his shirt off, he had only wanted to look at his injuries. He didn't think this would happen.

But he didn't mind.

In fact, he was taking advantage of the situation.

What a nice excuse to hug Ace.

They didn't know how much time had passed before Lance reluctantly let go. Placing his hands on Ace's shoulders, he shook him lightly.

Ace groaned, protesting the action. When Lance only shook him once more, he reluctantly pulled away from his shoulder. Not wanting to leave Lance's warmth, he left his arms wrapped around Lance and looked into the other's eyes. He was about to speak, but the only thing that escaped his lips was a yawn.

Lance's warmth had made him sleepy.

Well, maybe it was that the events of the day were finally taking their toll on him.

Lance was about to ask something, but he changed his mind upon seeing Ace yawn. Golden eyes softened, expressing his fondness. "You should sleep. It has been a long day for you."

Ace blinked at seeing the soft golden eyes, wondering if his tired mind was playing tricks on him. Too tired to protest, he nodded, reluctantly letting go of Lance.

He grabbed his shirt, and after putting it on, he yawned once more.

He wasn't sure if he would make it to his room.

Maybe Lance wouldn't mind…

He shook his head, mentally scolding himself.

What was he thinking?

Lance needed his rest.

There was no way he could… sleep in the same room as Lance.

Just as he was pulling away and letting his feet touch the ground, he felt a hand touch his wrist. He stopped, looking back confused. "Lance?"

Lance cleared his throat before meeting Ace's tired blue eyes. "… Stay here."

Ace yawned once more, raising his free hand to rub at his eyes. "What?"

Lance's cheeks flushed a light pink, biting back his smile at the adorable action. "Stay."

Wondering if he was already dreaming (since the sight of Lance with light pink cheeks didn't happen outside of his dreams), he rubbed at his eyes once more, narrowing his eyes. "I'm not a dog."

"Ace…"

"… Yeah. I'll stay," he muttered, cheeks flushing pink.

Stupid Lance.

One look into those soft golden eyes, and he found he couldn't refuse him.

Cursing at how much power Lance held over him (and wanting to hate that he felt happy at noticing Lance's bright golden eyes), Ace crawled back over to Lance.

Once Ace was close enough, Lance let go of his wrist and lay down.

When Lance looked at him expectantly, Ace lifted up the covers and climbed into bed beside Lance. He lay down, eyes closing and not even bothering to lift the covers up.

He could hear the faint rustle of the sheets as Lance covered him. "Thank you, Lance. Good night."

It didn't take him long to fall asleep.

Lance sat up on one elbow, watching Ace sleep peacefully.

Ace's face looked free of tenseness. He looked… _content_.

Feeling his heart race at the possibility that it could have something to do with him, he couldn't stop himself from leaning in and kissing Ace on the forehead. He paused for a few moments before leaning up and gently kissing the bandages around Ace's head.

He pulled away, almost expecting Ace to wake up and look at him strangely.

But he didn't.

Ace must've been more tired than he thought.

Lance's eyes darkened, feeling bad Ace pushed himself because of him.

He leaned in, gently kissing the bandages once more before pulling away.

"I'm sorry, Ace. Good night."

He lay back down, closing his eyes.

He didn't know how long had passed before he opened his eyes, frowning.

Hyperaware of Ace's presence and somehow feeling he wouldn't be able to fall asleep without him, he scooted closer. He reached out, carefully trying to shift Ace.

Feeling his warmth even in his sleep, Ace turned to face Lance and moved closer.

Lance held his breath as Ace moved towards him.

It seemed Ace was still asleep.

He breathed out, pulling Ace closer. Once he was close enough, he wrapped his arms around him in a warm protective embrace.

He closed his eyes, feeling something inside of him relax with Ace's presence nearby.

He wouldn't get any nightmares tonight. Not with Ace in his arms.

His sun had forgiven him.

And while he wanted his precious sun to stay with him forever, this was enough for now.

There would always be a chance to confess to Ace later.

 **ZZZZZZZZZZZZ**

 **Author Notes:** I hope you all enjoyed this story.

I got my inspiration for my title from Bill Withers' song "Lean on Me". I remember that I had to sing it for my elementary school graduation with my class. If any of you have never listened to the song before, I highly recommend you go listen to it.

I had trouble writing my Valentine's Day story, and I got inspiration to write this one. This ended up longer than I thought it would be, though. Oh well. These things happen sometimes.

Aya mentioned it to me before, but I really like the idea that Lance likes having Ace in his arms.

I don't think Lance would relax or think about what happened until he saw Ace again. Both were comforting each other (even if Ace himself didn't realize it).

Tamazo mentioning the moon's cheese was something I saw here at my school. There is this cheese snack called Moon Cheese. I've never tried it, so I don't know if it is good or not. I know that there have also been cartoons (and maybe even anime) in the past that mentioned the moon being made of cheese or looking like cheese. I thought it would be perfect for Tamazo.

Speaking of Tamazo and Devi… Once they finished with looking at the full moon and arguing with each other, they came back inside. Devi, knowing that Lance-sama would want his privacy with Ace, pulled the white dumpling into a spare room. Tamazo didn't recognize the room they were in, but when morning came, he recognized it as Ace's room. He showed Devi the picture of baby Ace and a younger looking Rena then flew off with it, wanting to show it to Lance.

The next time we see each other, it will be Valentine's Day. At least, I hope I'll be able to finish it on time.

I know everyone probably isn't satisfied with how I ended things, but I promise we'll get an actual confession and kiss scene next chapter.

See you next time!


	2. Love and Chocolates

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Puzzle and Dragons X/Cross

 **Author Notes:** Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! I hope this chapter will put a smile on your face and will help lighten those negative feelings if you are alone on this day.

In this chapter, Ace admits it to himself multiple times that he loves Lance. He still gets flustered when other people point it out, though, and he still gets flustered around Lance a lot.

I hope you all enjoy it!

 **Chapter 2: Love and Chocolates**

Ace, dressed in his normal outfit and a red apron, frowned, looking down at the bowl of melted chocolate on the table. Was it just his imagination, or did it seem… different than what it was supposed to look like?

Did he do something wrong?

He huffed, turning his head to look at the open cookbook a few feet away from the bowl.

The cookbook displayed a recipe about how to make simple Valentine's Day chocolate. The page displayed a bowl of melted chocolate as well as instructions on how to make it appear as smooth as possible.

He furrowed his brow. It was strange. He made the chocolate according to the recipe, yet it seemed different somehow.

Maybe he needed to mix it more?

He nodded, his eyes expressing determination. He turned back to his bowl and picked up the wire whisk. Placing one hand on the bowl to hold it steady, he started mixing the melted chocolate.

After several moments, he stopped and nodded, smiling at the smooth and glossy texture.

The cookbook mentioned a technique known as tempering. If someone tempered the chocolate, it produced a chocolate with a professional snap, sheen, and taste.

But he wasn't a professional or anywhere as good as his mom or grandma.

He would have to make the chocolate without tempering it.

And while he knew he could ask his mom or grandma to help him, he felt determined to make the chocolate by himself.

"Ace! Look, tama! I did it, tama!"

Hearing a familiar squeaky voice, he looked up and turned his head to the left.

Tamazo, dressed in a small black apron, shoved a bowl of melted chocolate towards Ace. "Look, tama!"

Ace gasped as the bowl shook from Tamazo's excitement. He hastily let go of his bowl and held Tamazo's bowl steady with both hands. A few moments later, he felt relieved upon seeing none of the chocolate on the floor.

"Tamazo! Don't just shove things at me like that! You need to be more careful!" Ace scolded.

Tamazo huffed, crossing his small arms in front of his chest. "But I wanted Ace to look at my progress as soon as possible, tama!"

Ace shook his head. "You wouldn't want me to drop this, would you?"

Tamazo gasped dramatically, looking horrified. "That would be awful, tama! Tamazo doesn't want the ground to be part of Tamazo's chocolate, tama!"

Ace nodded, looking pleased. "Then you should be more careful." He looked down at the bowl in his hands. He smiled at seeing the progress before looking back up at Tamazo. "Yeah. You're making good progress. I think these will turn out delicious." He held out the bowl for Tamazo to take.

Tamazo took the bowl with both arms, puffing his chest out. "Tamazo is a genius, tama! Of course it will be delicious, tama!"

Ace narrowed his eyes. "You're just making chocolate. Don't get full of yourself, Tamazo."

The white dragon placed the bowl on the table and lifted one arm to touch the area beneath the pink ovals on his face. "Teehee."

Unable to stop the fond smile on his face, Ace shook his head before returning to his bowl of chocolate. "Let's continue, Tamazo."

"Yes, tama!"

After everything that happened recently, it was nice to relax and make chocolates. It was the day before Valentine's Day, and while Ace had never made Valentine's Day chocolate before, he decided to make some this year. He had decided to make chocolate for the person he loved and confess to him.

The thought of making chocolate for the person he loved and confessing (especially on Valentine's Day of all days) made him feel embarrassed.

It didn't help that when he brought up the subject of making chocolate to his grandma and mom, they had immediately started smiling and mentioned how romantic it was.

His cheeks heated up at the memory.

He had automatically denied the romantic part, saying that he wanted to give chocolate to his friends.

But his grandma and mom hadn't been convinced.

His mom had pointed out his flushed cheeks, saying that Ace was at that age and asking if he had someone he liked.

Ace had immediately denied having someone like that, saying he didn't understand why he loved that guy.

Belatedly, he had realized what he had said and felt like cursing as his mom and grandma looked at him knowingly.

Before they could say anything else (and embarrass him further), he had turned around and walked away, saying that he was going to borrow the kitchen.

His mom and grandma had offered their help, but Ace had politely refused their offer, wanting to do it by himself.

Tamazo had quickly joined him, claiming that he wanted to make chocolate for someone as well.

When Ace had asked Tamazo who he was making the chocolate for, Tamazo had shaken his arm at him before saying that it was a secret.

He snorted at the memory.

More than likely, Tamazo was making the chocolate for Devi.

He poured the chocolate into the square shaped molds carefully. Once he finished, he set aside the bowl and counted the chocolate squares.

While he did want to give some to the person he loved, he didn't lie when he said that he was going to make some for his friends.

Of course, the chocolate he was going to give to his friends would have different feelings in it than the chocolate he was going to give to the person he loved.

Belatedly, he wondered if Lance even liked chocolate.

He _probably_ should've thought of this before he started making it.

Oh well.

Even if he didn't like chocolate, Ace was certain he could make Lance try at least one piece of it.

One piece would be enough for him.

Then all he had to do was confess.

His cheeks flushed pink, hastily pushing that thought to the back of his mind.

He would worry about… _that_ later.

After making sure he had enough chocolate squares, he placed the molds into the refrigerator carefully.

He looked over at Tamazo, noticing that he was pouring the chocolate into circle shaped molds. "Are you almost done, Tamazo? I want to close the refrigerator."

"Wait, tama. I'm almost done, tama." Tamazo poured the rest of the chocolate, and after picking up the molds, he placed it into the refrigerator carefully.

Once Tamazo backed away, Ace closed the refrigerator and turned to face the messy table. "Let's clean up our mess, Tamazo."

"Tamazo didn't make a mess, tama. Only Ace made a mess, tama."

Ace narrowed his eyes before pointing to the dirty dishes and utensils that Tamazo used. "What about those?"

Tamazo looked over at them, shrugging. "That isn't a mess, tama."

Ace rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just wash them."

"But I have Ace, tama."

Ace glared at him. "I'm not washing them for you. Do it yourself."

Tamazo pouted, his ears and wings drooping. "Fine, tama." He flew over to his side of the table.

Ace groaned, resisting the urge to massage his temples. Sometimes, he didn't understand how Tamazo's mind worked, and there were times where he thought it was better if he didn't.

This was one of those times.

He walked back over to the table, gathering his dirty dishes and utensils. After taking them to the sink, he looked over at the refrigerator and smiled.

For the first time in a long time, he was looking forward to Valentine's Day.

ZZZ

Ace smiled, eyes sparkling. He couldn't help but let his eyes look down at the red gift bag in his hand.

It was Valentine's Day, and the weather was on his side.

The sun shone brilliantly. White, puffy clouds occasionally covered the sun. A chilly wind blew through the area occasionally, reminding everyone that it was still winter.

Thanks to the sun heating up the city, it didn't feel as cold as it could've been. He had his normal outfit on, but he also had a blue scarf wrapped around his neck and red gloves on his hands.

He had checked on his chocolate earlier that morning and felt pleased when he saw how good they looked.

He was looking forward to his friends' reaction to the chocolate.

Thinking about Lance's reaction to his chocolate made him feel embarrassed and nervous.

Would Lance like his chocolate?

And what about his confession?

He had stayed up for a few hours the night before, thinking about the best way to confess to Lance.

But he hadn't thought up any good ideas and finally decided to wing it.

Doing things on impulse suited him, and he knew Lance would agree.

"Tama…"

Hearing Tamazo's voice, he looked up and over to his left. Tamazo was in the air next to him with a pout on his face. He had a small orange gift bag in one hand. He wore an orange scarf around his neck (courtesy of Rena. She had knitted the small scarf to fit Tamazo's body and gave it to him, saying that it was a Valentine's Day present).

Ace resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Are you _still_ sulking? I told you that it is alright."

Tamazo looked at him, narrowing his eyes. "It's not alright, tama! That chocolate was meant for Ace, tama! And yet," he said, eyes tearing up. "Tama ate it! Sorry, Ace."

Ace's eyes softened. "I told you that it is alright. It is the thought that counts, Tamazo."

"Ace is just saying that to make Tama feel better!"

Ace rolled his eyes. Tamazo had been sulking the whole morning, and he was starting to feel exasperated by the other's behavior. "No. I'm not. I really do mean it. You can always make chocolate for me again next year."

Tamazo shook his head, his ears and wings drooping. "I can't wait that long, tama."

Ace's eyes softened, wishing he could cheer his partner up. He was about to give Tamazo the chocolate that he made for him, but he finally decided against it.

For some reason, he had a feeling that would only make things worse.

He didn't want Tamazo to start crying in public.

After eating breakfast that morning, Ace had wrapped his chocolate in small clear gift bags. He had used silver wire ties to tie the top of the bags.

When he had finished, Tamazo had flown into the room, looking distraught.

Ace had opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, but Tamazo had flown at his face, trying to hug him with his small arms.

Ace had hastily pulled Tamazo away from his face, feeling irritated. He was about to ask what Tamazo's problem was, but his irritation had melted at the look on his partner's face.

Tamazo had apparently eaten the chocolate that he made for Ace.

Tamazo had told him that it was an accident and that he had misjudged how many chocolates he had left.

Ace had felt surprised that Tamazo had made chocolate for him, assuming that Tamazo had only made some for Devi. He had quickly reassured Tamazo that he wasn't angry and thanked him for the kind gesture.

But it hadn't been enough.

Tamazo's gloomy and regretful mood had continued all morning.

His mom had noticed Tamazo's mood and gave him the scarf and some omelette rolls.

Tamazo had perked up at the food and the gift, and he had even managed to smile a small smile at his mom saying that she would make a chocolate cake for Tamazo later.

But as soon as they left his grandma's house, Tamazo had started sulking once more.

Thankfully, it was almost lunchtime.

Ace had made plans with his friends to meet up for lunch at a café in Crocus. He had invited Lance, saying that everyone would be happy to see him again.

Unfortunately, Lance had refused.

While Lance had returned to Crocus and was still healing at his grandma's house, he had avoided entering the city and any place that had people.

He had claimed that it was because he hated crowded places, but Ace knew better.

He knew that Lance was avoiding the rest of the inhabitants of Crocus out of guilt, believing everyone hadn't forgiven him yet.

It made his heart clench.

Ace was about to mention that it was almost lunchtime to Tamazo, but before he could, a familiar voice called out to him.

"Ace!"

Ace blinked, looking away from Tamazo to look at the direction the voice came from. His eyes lit up, spotting Haru coming towards him. "Haru!"

Ace and Tamazo stopped, waiting for Haru.

A few moments later, Haru smiled, stopping a few feet away. She wore her normal outfit, but she also wore a dark purple scarf around her neck and dark purple gloves on her hands. "I knew that was you, Ace! It has been a while."

"Yeah. It has been a while," Ace said, smiling. He blinked a few times, belatedly remembering where they were. "Come to think of it, what are you doing here?"

Haru narrowed her eyes, placing her hands on her hips. "What, are you not happy to see me?"

Ace laughed sheepishly, holding his hands up in front of him. "Of course I'm happy to see you. I'm just surprised to see you here."

Haru gave him an unconvinced look before smiling at him. "I'm kidding. I know you are happy to see me."

Ace smiled, letting his hands drop back to his sides. "Yeah. So… What are you doing here?"

Haru's eyes lit up, raising an arm to show the wrapped present she was holding in one hand. He blinked, having not noticed that it was there before. "Today is Valentine's Day. I'm going to give my chocolate to Lance-sama."

Ace frowned at the mention of Lance, cursing inwardly as he felt an uncomfortable and angry feeling in his stomach. His hands formed fists at his sides.

There was no need to feel jealous.

He knew about Haru's feelings for Lance. He knew she was one of his fans.

But he couldn't stop this ugly feeling.

"Good luck," Ace said, unable to wipe the frown off his face. When Haru only looked at him confused, he scoffed. "That guy probably won't accept your chocolate, let alone stick around to talk to you. Remember what happened when we saw him in Vienna City?"

Back then, he thought Lance was an arrogant showoff who didn't respect his fans. But now…

Lance had changed (or maybe he always had a soft side to him and he was only just now allowing Ace to see it), but Ace knew Lance would refuse Haru's (or any of his fans') chocolate.

Instead of getting upset like Ace thought she might, Haru giggled. "You act like you don't like Lance-sama, but I know you like him."

Ace couldn't stop his cheeks from heating up. "What are you talking about? I don't like that guy!"

Haru giggled once more, shaking her head. "Of course you do. You two are friends, right?"

Ace laughed nervously, feeling relieved. He thought Haru was saying that he liked Lance romantically. He probably should tell her about his feelings for Lance, but he kept making excuses not to tell her. "Uh… Right. We're friends. I knew that."

He would tell her one day.

Haru deserved to know the truth about his feelings for Lance. She was his childhood friend, and they had made a promise to tell each other when they found someone they liked.

Or loved in Ace's case.

Haru shook her head once more, smiling fondly. "Idiot."

Ace was about to ask Haru if she knew where Lance was, but the city clock tower's chiming made the words die in his throat, the noise reverberating throughout the city.

His eyes widened, looking over at it.

It was already noon?

He was going to be late.

He looked back at Haru. "Sorry, Haru. I have to go. I'm going to be late."

Haru blinked, confused. "Late to what?"

"I'm meeting everyone at a café for lunch. We agreed to meet at noon. Do you want to come?"

Haru thought for several moments before shaking her head. "While I do want to see and talk to Garnet-san again, I want to look for Lance-sama. I'll spend the whole day looking for him if I have to." Her eyes expressed her determination.

Ace pushed away the uncomfortable and angry feeling in his stomach and smiled at her.

Or at least, it was supposed to be a smile.

It ended up being a grimace.

Ignoring her confused look, he nodded. "Alright. See you later." He turned his head to look at Tamazo. "Let's go, Tamazo."

Tamazo, who had perked up at the mention of lunch, cheered. "Yes, tama!"

Rolling his eyes good-naturedly, Ace stepped around Haru and started running away. His eyes widened, noticing the gift bag he was holding.

He almost forgot.

He stopped abruptly, making Tamazo stop and protest.

Turning around, he jogged back to Haru.

Haru, who had watched him leave, tilted her head as Ace jogged towards her. "What is it, Ace? Did you forget something?"

Ace stopped a few feet away, nodding. He pulled out one of the clear gift bags and held it out to her, smiling. "Here. I made chocolate for you. I didn't know if I would get to see you today, but I figured I might as well pack it. Just in case. I'm glad I ran into you."

Haru's cheeks flushed pink as she accepted the chocolate. Three small chocolate squares lay inside the clear gift bag. "W-What's this? Ace made chocolate? I can't believe it."

He laughed sheepishly, poking his cheek. "Yeah. I felt like making some for all my friends this year. Thank you for everything, Haru."

"Ace! Hurry up, tama!"

Ace turned his head to look at Tamazo, noticing that his partner looked impatient. "I'm coming, Tamazo." He turned his head back to look at Haru, grinning. "Good luck with finding Lance. I'll tell Garnet that you wanted to see and talk to her. See you later."

He quickly turned around and started running.

"We're going to be late because of you, tama!"

"Sorry, Tamazo. I lost track of time."

If Ace had looked back at Haru, he would've seen a soft smile on her face as she held the wrapped chocolate Ace gave her.

Haru shook her head, unable to stop flushing. As usual, Ace was oblivious to her feelings. "… Idiot," she murmured to herself.

ZZZ

Everyone else had already arrived when Ace and Tamazo finally arrived, Ace skidding and almost crashing into a café sign.

Garnet had lectured him and Tamazo about showing up on time, saying that she couldn't believe he was one of her assistants at times.

He had muttered that he never asked to be one of her assistants, making Garnet glare at him.

He winced, rubbing his ear as he sat down next to Charo in the circular shaped booth.

Garnet's lecture was still ringing in his ears.

Charo and Tiger, who had watched the scene sympathetically, looked at him.

"Are you alright, Ace?" Charo said, concerned. He had a light green scarf and green gloves next to him.

Garnet spoke up before he could. "Of course he's alright. I helped him. He'll thank me one of these days," she said, looking down at her menu. She had a yellow scarf next to her.

"Help? Is that what you call it?" Tiger muttered to Ace and Charo, making them smile and agree.

Garnet looked up from her menu, glaring at Tiger. "What did you say?"

Tiger gulped, holding one hand out in front of him. "I didn't say anything." He had an orange scarf and orange gloves next to him.

Garnet scoffed, looking back down at her menu. "That's what I thought."

Ace and Charo laughed nervously, smiling at each other and thinking the same thing.

They would try not to make Garnet angry while they were at the café.

Ace took off his scarf and gloves, setting them down next to him. He looked around the café for the first time.

He could hear soft music playing in the background. Looking around, he spotted a black-haired man wearing the café's uniform playing a piano. The café had a cozy atmosphere, and he could hear the chatter of other customers. The smell of coffee wafted through the air.

According to Garnet, the café was a popular one around lunchtime.

And he could tell.

People occupied almost all the seats in the café. Many people, it seemed, were having lunch. Others were reading the newspaper with a cup of coffee on the table in front of them.

"Ace?"

He blinked, looking back at their table.

Tamazo, who was sitting on the table near him, waved his arms in front of Ace's face.

Ace jerked back, surprised. "What are you doing, Tamazo?"

Tamazo cheered. "I did it, tama! I got Ace's attention, tama!"

Ace narrowed his eyes. "You didn't have to wave your arms in my face, Tamazo."

"But you weren't paying attention to Tama, tama!" Tamazo said, pouting.

Ace rolled his eyes. "What is it?"

Tamazo's eyes lit up, one arm pointing at his menu. "Tama wants this, tama." Before Ace could agree, Tamazo pointed at something else on the menu. "And this, tama."

"Alright. You can get those," Ace said, smiling.

"Really, tama? I can't wait to eat, tama!" Tamazo cheered.

Ace shook his head, smiling fondly. It was good to see Tamazo in a cheerful mood compared to the sullen mood from this morning. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Charo looking at him and turned his head to look at him. "Charo?"

Charo smiled sheepishly. He didn't mean to stare. "Sorry, Ace. It is just… You don't usually spoil Tamazo, so I was wondering if everything was alright."

Ace nodded, smiling softly at his friend. "Thank you, Charo. But everything is alright." He thought for a few moments, glancing over at Tamazo and making sure he wasn't listening to their conversation. "I'll tell you later why I gave in to Tamazo."

"Okay," Charo said, smiling. Deciding to change the subject, he pointed at the menu in front of him. "Have you decided what to eat yet, Ace?"

Ace felt grateful Charo changed the subject. The last thing he needed and wanted was for Tamazo to listen to their conversation.

After placing their orders, conversations began at their table.

Ace hadn't seen his friends in a while, so he was eager to find out what they had been up to since the last time they saw each other.

It had been a couple of months since they had defeated Jest (with Dafnes' help), and during that time, everyone on Dragoza Island worked together to rebuild the cities that suffered at Dominion's hands. All the humans who had been forced to evacuate had returned, offering their help and forgiving the Dragonoids who apologized to them.

While the Guild was still recovering from what happened, they had started assigning missions again. Most of the missions had something to do with helping one of the cities that needed help rebuilding, but Ace didn't mind.

He was happy to help with the rebuilding of the cities.

His grandma, mom, Tamazo, and even Lance at one point had told him to slow down and to take a break from missions, saying that he had pushed himself too much recently.

But Ace had waved off their concerns, saying that he was alright and that he was happy to complete the missions the Guild assigned him.

Since Lance was out of action until his injuries healed, the Guild had asked Ace to complete the missions in his place.

Ace remembered feeling surprised when the Dragon Caller at the Guild Center had told him that he could accept S-ranked missions.

Normally, only elite Guild Dragon Callers (such as Lance) could accept S-ranked missions.

At first, he wasn't sure what to make of it, feeling confused.

Did that mean the Guild saw Ace as an elite Guild Dragon Caller now?

Or was it just temporary?

Thinking wasn't one of Ace's strong points, and the longer he had thought about it, the longer it had made his head hurt.

He had finally decided that it didn't matter for now. He would complete all the missions that the Guild assigned to him. Even the S-ranked ones.

He would show them that he could handle the S-ranked missions.

If he proved that he could handle the S-ranked missions, maybe the Guild would think about promoting him to the next rank.

But there was a reason why the Guild only assigned S-ranked missions to elite Guild Dragon Callers.

And Ace was beginning to understand why.

The S-ranked missions were ranked the most difficult, and Ace had trouble successfully completing some of them.

He wasn't sure how he had managed it, but luckily, he had completed all the S-ranked missions the Guild assigned to him so far.

Tamazo had kept mentioning that it was thanks to him, but Ace knew better.

They had some close calls on some of the S-ranked missions, and Ace knew he only completed some of the missions thanks to luck.

The Guild had kept assigning him mission after mission with hardly any rest in between missions.

And while none of the missions involved fighting in his Soul Armor and using Soul Brave like he used to, some of the missions involved fighting some poachers or the rest of the Egg Drop trafficking organization.

It probably wasn't smart to accept S-ranked missions when his injuries still needed to heal, but it was too late to go back.

Besides, the Guild was counting on him.

He couldn't let them down.

"Ace?"

Ace blinked, surprised. He looked around, noticing that his friends were looking at him. Besides Garnet (who was trying to pretend that she wasn't concerned), his friends looked at him, concerned.

He laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry. I guess I spaced out for a moment."

"A moment? It was more like several minutes," Garnet muttered, scoffing.

"Ace, are you alright? Are your injuries bothering you?" Charo said, unable to stop his eyes from looking up at the white bandages wrapped around Ace's head.

Tiger nodded, frowning. "You can tell us anything. You know that, Ace. If your injuries are bothering you, you should be resting. Don't push yourself for our sake."

Garnet nodded, sipping her tea.

Ace blinked a few times at seeing the tea. When did their drinks arrive?

Had he spaced out for that long?

Garnet sipped her tea once more before placing it on its plate, looking at Ace. "I know you are an idiot and an amateur Guild Dragon Caller, but there is this thing called taking a break. You should try it sometime."

Ace rolled his eyes. In other words, Garnet agreed with everyone else and was telling him not to push himself. "Thank you, guys," he said, pointedly directing his thanks to only Charo and Tiger. "But I'm alright. Besides, I want to be here. I want to know what you guys have been up to."

Garnet scoffed, feeling irritated that Ace ignored her words of wisdom. "You won't hear what we've been up to if you keep on spacing out."

Ace glared at her. "That was only one time."

"Actually Ace," Charo said, gently cutting into their conversation before they could start arguing. "We tried to get your attention several times, but you didn't pay any attention to us." At Ace's betrayed look, he held up his hands. "That is why I thought your injuries were bothering you. Today is your day off, right? Maybe you should spend it resting at home."

Ace frowned. "I'm sorry for not paying attention to you guys. But I'm alright."

Garnet rolled her eyes, looking back at her tea. "Yeah, like we believe that."

Ignoring Garnet (since he knew it would only cause an argument, and he didn't feel like arguing with her), Ace's eyes lit up, remembering something.

"I made chocolate for you guys," he said, picking up the red gift bag and setting it on the table.

It probably wasn't the best time to do it, but it would change the subject.

Ace took out three clear gift bags. Three small chocolate squares lay inside each of the clear gift bags. He handed one to each of his friends, grinning at their surprised expressions as they accepted the chocolate.

Even Garnet looked surprised.

But it didn't last long.

"I know you are an idiot, but usually only _girls_ make chocolate for Valentine's Day," Garnet said, smirking. "Unless you want to tell us something?"

Ace gave her an unimpressed look. "You're hilarious, Garnet."

Garnet looked away with her nose in the air. "Being funny is part of being an idol. I'm not surprised you understand my humor."

Rolling his eyes at her haughty behavior, Ace looked at Charo and Tiger. "Let's go back to more important things," he said, making Garnet glare at him. "Even I know that usually only girls make chocolate for Valentine's Day. But I wanted to do something special this year."

"I understand. It is friend chocolates," Charo said, nodding.

Ace rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess it could be considered that."

Garnet rolled her eyes. "No matter how you look at it, these are friend chocolates. Does an idiot like you even know that term?"

Ace narrowed his eyes. "Of course I do!" His irritation melted a few moments later. "I know it is not considered normal for guys to hand out chocolate, but I wanted to thank you guys," he said, smiling.

"It can't be… Did you make these yourself?" Charo said, surprised.

"Yeah. I borrowed my grandma's kitchen and one of her cookbooks to make them," Ace said, cheeks flushing.

Charo smiled softly. "That is amazing, Ace. I should be the one thanking you. It is obvious you put a lot of effort into these." He turned his head to look at Tiger. "Right, Tiger?"

Tiger, who had bowed his head, looked up, eyes tearing up. "Ace! You are such a good guy! This is the best Valentine's Day present I've ever received."

Ace sweat dropped. "You're overreacting."

Tiger quickly shook his head. "I had given up on receiving chocolates from any girls this year, so I'm really happy right now. Thank you!"

Charo blinked, surprised. "Eh? Isn't it too early to give up? It is only half past noon."

Besides, he was certain that Rose-san would give Tiger some chocolate before the day ended. Now, whether it would be obligation chocolate or friend chocolate, he didn't know.

Tiger rubbed his eyes then looked at Charo. "A kid like you wouldn't understand, Charo. Receiving a chocolate from a girl on Valentine's Day is special. Girls put their feelings into their chocolate."

Charo frowned at the kid comment. "All I'm saying is that you shouldn't give up so soon. And even I know that."

As Charo and Tiger began a conversation, Ace turned his head to look at Garnet, awaiting her reaction.

Garnet noticed that he was awaiting her reaction and looked away with her nose in the air. "I'm surprised you took the time to make these yourself. For your information, I've already received a lot of chocolate from my fans."

Ace rolled his eyes good-naturedly. She wasn't being honest, but then again, that was Garnet. "Is that so?"

"Still… I can appreciate the sentiment behind it. Even if the chocolate itself is a little plain."

Ace sweat dropped. "Plain?"

"Thank you."

Ace gaped at her. Garnet actually… _thanked_ him?

Was there some sort of catch? Was she trying to trick him?

Garnet looked back at him, smirking at his reaction. "Well, I guess the plainness can't be helped. You probably went all out with the decorations on a certain Dragonoid's chocolate."

Ace cursed silently, feeling his cheeks heat up. "W-What are you talking about? Why would I give chocolate to that guy?"

Garnet resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Because you like him."

"I don't like that guy!"

"Sorry. I forgot," Garnet said, rolling her eyes. "You _love_ him."

Ace glared at her. "I-I do not love Lance."

Charo looked over at Ace. "Of course you do, Ace. All of us can tell that you do."

Ace looked over at Charo and spluttered, face turning pink. "That's not… I'm not… Charo!"

"Right, Tiger?"

"You have our support, Ace. Your feelings for Lance is obvious," Tiger said, grinning.

"Says the guy who couldn't figure it out on his own," Garnet murmured.

Tiger looked over at her, glaring. "What's that supposed to mean, Garnet?"

"More importantly… You have Lance's chocolate with you, right? Let me see it," Garnet said, ignoring Tiger.

"Oi! Don't ignore me, Garnet!"

Ace immediately grabbed the red gift bag, holding it close to his chest. "No. Only Lance gets to see it."

"Come on. I won't make fun of it."

"I don't believe you. The answer is still no," Ace said, holding the gift bag protectively.

Garnet blinked, surprised at his reaction. After a few moments, she shrugged and looked away. "You know what? I don't want to see it anymore."

Ace furrowed his brow. "But you just said you wanted to see it."

"And now I don't."

Noticing Ace still looked confused, Charo leaned over to Ace. "Garnet-san can tell that you don't want to show us the chocolate, so she is pretending that she doesn't want to see it anymore."

Ace blinked and looked over at Charo, surprised. Garnet was… being nice? "I see."

"What do you mean 'pretending', Charo? I don't care about his chocolate for Lance," Garnet said, glaring at Charo.

Charo laughed nervously, holding up his hands. "Of course you don't. You wouldn't care about something like that anyway."

Garnet's eye twitched, feeling annoyed. "You…!"

As Garnet and Charo began a conversation, Ace felt relieved they dropped the subject.

No offense to his friends, but only one person was going to see Lance's chocolate.

And that was Lance.

Of course, he had to find the older boy first.

But he felt confident that he could find Lance.

ZZZ

A few hours later, Ace walked down the streets of Crocus with Tamazo, looking for Lance.

If Lance wasn't at his grandma's house, he would find him outside the city gates.

He had enjoyed his lunch with his friends. He was glad he could meet up with them and find out what they've been up to.

Tiger had been helping Rose rebuild Geyser as well as continuing his studies with Eldora.

Charo had been helping Torlie rebuild Libria as well as the collection of books that burned due to Dominion's actions. Charo had also mentioned that Klein was helping them, and while the inhabitants of Libria were wary and couldn't forgive Klein at first, they had seen Klein's hard work and how sincere he was and were slowly starting to forgive him.

Garnet had been helping Herriot rebuild Exscion as well as continuing her idol activities. She had also mentioned that the Guild had finally found new replacements for the Elder of Light and Elder of Darkness positions.

When asked who they were, Garnet had smirked smugly before saying that it was Herriot and Morgan respectively.

Ace had felt happy for the twin sisters. He knew they would make great elders, and he knew they would look after their respective cities.

When asked what he had been up to, Ace had mentioned his missions.

He didn't tell them that the Guild assigned him S-ranked missions, not wanting them to worry.

"Ace!"

Ace blinked at the sound of his name. He stopped, looking over at Tamazo.

Tamazo stopped and looked over at Ace, tilting his head. "Tama?"

Tamazo wasn't the one who called his name?

"Ace!"

He looked around, blinking at the sight of Ana approaching them.

"What's Ana doing here?" Ace said, confused.

"Like Tama would know, tama."

A few moments later, Ana stopped a few feet away, smiling at them. She wore her normal outfit, but she also wore a light blue scarf around her neck and light blue gloves on her hands. "Ace. It is good to see you again. You too, Tamazo. I knew it was you two."

Ace nodded, smiling. "It is good to see you too, Ana. It has been a while."

Tamazo placed his arms on his hips and puffed his chest out. "You can't hide my star-like quality, tama!"

Ana giggled, looking at Tamazo. "You haven't changed, Tamazo."

Tamazo beamed. "Tama's star-like quality will never change, tama!"

Ana giggled once more. "You are right." She looked at Ace, eyes widening at the sight of white bandages wrapped around his head. "Ace. That injury…"

Ace, who had been watching their interaction with a smile, blinked as she focused her attention on him. He smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, Ana. I'm alright."

Ana stepped closer, eyes expressing her concern. "Really? It doesn't hurt? How did you get it?"

Ace laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I was being reckless while on a mission."

That was actually a lie.

The injury was from his battle with Kroell and Jest. Since he hadn't received any rest in between fighting Dominion and his missions, his injuries hadn't healed yet.

The Guild had felt reluctant to assign Ace missions (especially S-ranked missions) when his injuries hadn't healed yet, but Ace had insisted that he was alright and that he could complete the missions, making the Guild give in to him.

Ana shook her head, unable to stop the fond smile from forming. "You should be more careful. A lot of people care about you, and they wouldn't want to see you get hurt."

Ace nodded, feeling guilty that she believed his lie. "Yeah. I'm sorry." When Ana only shook her head, wordlessly saying that it was alright, he decided to change the subject. "What are you doing here, Ana? Grandma told me that you went back to your village."

Ana's eyes lit up. "I did for a little bit. But I wanted to explore more of the world and learn more about Dragon Callers." She twirled around once, smiling cheerfully. "And here I am."

Ace sweat dropped. "Does Batna-san know that you are here?"

Somehow, he couldn't see Ana's father agreeing to that.

Ana pouted. "Of course he does. He gave me his permission."

Ace blinked, surprised. "Eh? Really?"

Ana nodded, still pouting. "On the condition that after I finish up my business today, I return to the village. Isn't that unfair? I want to explore more of Dragoza Island. Not just Crocus."

Ah. So Batna gave Ana a condition. That sounded like something Batna would do.

"What's your business?"

Ana's eyes lit up, a bright smile on her face. "Today is Valentine's Day. I made some chocolate." She lifted one arm, revealing the brown wicker basket that was around her arm. Inside the basket were small pink gift bags. Each of the gift bags had a blue wire tie tied around the top of it.

"You made a lot. Who did you make it for?" Ace said, surprised. He lifted his hand, showing his red gift bag. "Actually, I made some chocolate too." He pulled out one of the clear gift bags and offered it to the pink haired girl. "Here, Ana. This one's yours."

Ana's eyes widened at the sight of the chocolate. "You made chocolate too, Ace?"

Ace rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. "Yeah. I wanted to do something special this year. I didn't know if I would get to see you today, but I figured I might as well pack it. Just in case. I'm glad I ran into you. It is my way of thanking you."

"Thanking me for what?"

"For everything you've done for me. Thank you for being my friend, Ana," Ace said, smiling.

To his shock, Ana's eyes started tearing up. She accepted the chocolate, bowing her head over it.

"A-Ana? Is something wrong?" Ace said, worried.

Did he do something wrong?

While he knew it wasn't customary for guys to give chocolate on Valentine's Day, maybe Ana's village viewed things differently than the rest of Dragoza.

Maybe he offended her without meaning to?

Ana shook her head, looking up and rubbing her eyes with her free hand. "I'm touched. This is the first time I've received something like this. Thank you, Ace."

"Eh? Doesn't Batna-san give you a gift on White Day every year?" Ace said, surprised.

Ana huffed. "Of course he does, but that is only because he is my father. Our village is small. Everyone knows everyone. When you came to Stella's forest, that was the first time I met someone different. Someone around my age."

"Is that so? I didn't know that."

Ana beamed, a bright smile on her face. "You made me very happy. Thank you, Ace."

Ace's cheeks flushed pink. "Y-Yeah. Me too."

He wasn't expecting that reaction.

But it made sense in a way.

He felt happy that his chocolate made her that happy. He would definitely have to make chocolate for her again.

She formed fists with her hands, looking determined. "Alright. You've given me confidence. Now I know I can do it."

Ace blinked, looking confused. "Do what?"

Ana reached into her basket with her free hand and pulled out a pink gift bag. This one had a blue ribbon tied into a bow at the top of it, and it had a heart sticker on the front of it. It looked fancier than the others. "I made this one specially for someone special."

He nodded, having expected that. "It's for someone you like?"

To his surprise, Ana shook her head, her cheeks flushing pink. "I-It's for someone I love."

Ace's eyes widened. Ana had someone she loved? "Someone you love?"

Ana nodded, smiling bashfully. "These feelings are new to me, but I'm sure it is love. I had my doubts about making the chocolate and confessing today, but your chocolate gave me the confidence to do it."

Ana was going to confess? She was just like him.

Curious who she loved, Ace tilted his head. "What kind of person do you love, Ana?"

Ana looked down at the gift bag in her hand, smiling softly. "I didn't like him that much at first. He was a cold guy and refused to help me. Afterwards, he only agreed to help me if I helped him. But I knew he wasn't a bad guy. He also saved me when I was in trouble."

Ace smiled softly. It seemed like Ana really cared about this person. Much like him with his feelings for Lance.

He blinked a few times, belatedly remembering something.

Ana had told him that there wasn't anyone around her age in Stella. And she had purposefully come to Crocus, no doubt hoping to find the person she loved in this city.

The person she was describing sounded like someone he knew.

His eyes widened, the realization taking his breath away.

Ana looked up at him, confused by his silence. Her head tilted at his reaction, not understanding it. "Ace? Are you alright?" Her eyes expressed her concern.

 _No_.

It couldn't be…

He swallowed uncomfortably, forcing a smile onto his face. "Sorry to worry you. I'm alright. What's this person's name, Ana?"

He hoped he was wrong.

Maybe it was just a coincidence that the person she was describing sounded like… _him_.

Ana smiled bashfully, resisting the urge to bring her index fingers together and make them touch repeatedly. "It is actually someone you know, Ace. You probably know him better than I do."

Ace felt that uncomfortable and angry feeling in his stomach from earlier return. "One of my friends? Is it Tiger?"

Ana giggled at his joking tone, oblivious to Ace's true feelings. "No. It's not Tiger." She paused, eyes widening at how he could perceive that. "Of course I don't mean anything bad by that."

He laughed nervously, desperately trying to hide his true feelings from the girl. "Don't worry. I know what you meant. What was I thinking? That doesn't sound like Tiger at all." He pretended to think for a few moments. "Is it… Charo?"

Ana hit him on the shoulder, frowning. "Ace! You know Charo isn't like that!" Her lips twitched, threatening to burst into a smile.

He winced as she hit one of his injuries, shrugging to cover it up. "Charo could have a past that I don't know about."

She shook her head, amused. "You are wrong. Charo isn't the type of person to act cold to someone."

Ace forced a grin onto his face, holding his hands up in front of him. "Alright. I give up. Who is it?"

She gave him an exasperated look, although her lips twitching gave away her true feelings. "You are so mean. It's Lance."

Ace gasped, eyes widening.

He had hoped that he was wrong, but he had a bad feeling that Ana was describing Lance.

He pushed away the uncomfortable and angry feeling in his stomach. It wasn't right to feel jealous. Ana could love whomever she wanted.

Even if it was the same person that he loved.

Besides, it wasn't up to them.

It was up to Lance.

Lance could reject both him and Ana without breaking a sweat.

Ana frowned at his reaction, feeling concerned. "Ace?"

Was it her imagination, or was he acting strangely?

Ace forced another grin onto his face, his heart clenching in sadness and resisting the urge to form fists at his sides. "I see. So you love Lance. I would've never guessed it."

Tamazo, who had flown away from them to look at the food a street vendor was selling, flew back towards them and looked at Ace, incredulous. "Ace couldn't figure it out that it was Lance, tama? Tama knew it was Lance the whole time, tama." He stopped, floating by Ace's shoulder. He shook his head, lifting his arms up and shrugging. "Ace is an idiot, so Tama isn't too surprised."

Ace nodded, not in the mood to argue with his partner. "Yeah."

Ana tilted her head, still feeling concerned.

Ace would always argue with Tamazo (especially when Tamazo called him an idiot), and yet, he was agreeing.

And while she felt concerned about her friend, she was on a time limit. She had to meet with Lance before the day was over and confess to him. She knew she would regret it if she didn't.

"Ace? Do you know where Lance is?"

Ace froze at the question, wondering how he should answer. He could easily give her a fake location, and she would believe him.

That way, he could have Lance to himself.

Scolding himself for thinking selfish thoughts and wanting to hate the way he easily thought of lying to his friend, he shook his head, finally deciding to tell her the truth.

"Sorry. I don't. Have you checked Grandma's place yet?"

Ana nodded, frowning. "I checked this morning, and he wasn't there. Grandmother invited me to stay for lunch, and I thought Lance would return by then. But he didn't."

Ace wasn't surprised to hear that.

After he had woken up that morning (thankfully in his own bed and not Lance's), he had visited Lance's room to call him for breakfast.

But he had disappeared.

Slightly panicking (although he would deny it if anyone asked), Ace had immediately asked his grandma if she knew where he was.

Thankfully, his grandma had reassured him, saying that this was a common thing. She had mentioned that Lance had gotten tired of resting in bed all day and had started taking walks outside.

He would always return in time for dinner, and since he wasn't doing anything that aggravated his injuries, she had decided to let Lance continue what he was doing.

"Grandma told me that he doesn't like staying in bed all day. But he always comes back in time for dinner."

Ana's eyes lit up. "I see. That makes sense. Lance isn't the type of person to stay in bed all day. If I go back to Grandmother's house, I'll be able to meet him. Thank you, Ace!" She turned around, determined to return to Angine's house and wait for Lance.

"Wait, Ana. I'm not done talking yet," Ace said, raising a hand in futile protest.

"See you later, Ace! Tamazo! Wish me luck!" Ana said, running away.

"Wait, Ana!"

But it was too late.

Ana's figure had already disappeared into the crowd of people on the street, eagerly rushing to get to her destination.

Ace let his hand drop, laughing sheepishly. "Maybe I should've spoken faster."

Tamazo shot him a surprised look. "Ace can speak faster, tama? I want to see, tama!"

"Tamazo!" Ace groaned, starting to walk down the street. "That's not what I meant."

Tamazo started flying beside Ace, tilting his head and looking confused. "Tama?"

Ace shook his head. "Never mind."

He hated the way he felt relief at knowing that Ana wouldn't see Lance until dinnertime.

And at the same time, he felt guilty and nervous at knowing that he would get to be alone with Lance until that time.

ZZZ

It didn't take long for Ace and Tamazo to leave Crocus.

Ace didn't know why, but something was guiding him in the direction of the Linus Prairies.

Maybe Lance was there?

Tamazo sniffed the air, drooling. "This scent is… Tama!" He quickly flew off in another direction.

Ace's eyes widened as Tamazo left him behind. "Wait, Tamazo! Where are you going?" He quickly ran after his partner.

A couple minutes later, they arrived at the mapple tree King planted for Ace.

Tamazo quickly flew over to the tree and grabbed one. "Mapples, tama!" He bit into it, eyes sparkling. "This is heaven, tama!"

Ace walked over to the tree and stopped underneath its branches, frowning. "Geez! We don't have time for this. We need to look for Lance."

Tamazo grabbed another mapple, but before biting into it, he looked in the direction of the nearby ruins. "Speak of the devil, tama."

"What are you…?" Ace furrowed his brow, not understanding. His ears picked up footsteps approaching them and turned his head to look in the direction of the nearby ruins.

To his surprise, he saw Lance and Devi approaching them.

Lance raised an eyebrow, confused and slightly amused by Ace's gaping expression. He looked at Ace, letting his eyes linger on the bandages wrapped around the other's head for several moments before looking into Ace's eyes. "You were looking for me?"

Ace coughed, looking away to hide his flushed cheeks. Did Lance hear their whole conversation? "Y-Yeah. Sort of."

Lance bit back his smirk as he noticed the other's flushed cheeks. He stopped before Ace, unable to stop himself from reaching out with one hand. Ace jumped, looking back at him with wide eyes as their hands touched. To Lance's delight, Ace only looked away from his gaze, squeezing their joined hands.

He smirked, feeling pleased and smug that Ace didn't reject his touch.

Ace, who had prepared to confess as soon as he met up with Lance, couldn't speak. It was as if a cat monster stole his tongue.

Why was he choking up? He wasn't _that_ nervous.

Lance squeezing their joined hands snapped him out of the trance he was in. He looked back at Lance, breath catching in his throat at the soft look.

Ace gulped nervously, deciding to go for it and confess. "Uh… Hey, Lance."

Lance raised an eyebrow. He had noticed the other's silent behavior, and while he felt pleased his touch could elicit that reaction, he had started feeling concerned.

"What is it?"

But before Ace could continue, Tamazo flew over to them, cutting into their conversation.

"Ace made chocolate for you, tama!"

Ace and Lance's eyes widened at Tamazo's words.

Lance's eyes quickly returned to their normal calm state. His smirk from earlier returned to his face. He looked over at Ace, noticing with amusement that Ace's face was pink. "Is that so?"

Ace looked over at Tamazo, eyes narrowed. "Tamazo! Why would you… Don't say…" He cut himself off, letting out a yell and covering his face with his free hand.

Tamazo tilted his head, confused. "Tama?"

Devi, who had watched silently, rolled his eyes. Of course the white dumpling didn't get it.

Tamazo's eyes lit up, turning to look at Devi. "Tama made chocolate too, tama!" He reached into his bag and pulled out a clear gift bag. The clear gift bag had orange ribbon tied at the top of it, and inside the bag was two circular shaped pieces of chocolate. "This is for Devi, tama," he said, offering it for Devi to take.

Devi blinked, surprised before quickly shaking his head. "No way, devi! I don't want an upset stomach, devi!"

Tamazo pouted. "It won't give you an upset stomach, tama!" His smile returned to his face. "Because it is chocolate, tama!"

Devi scoffed. "But it is _your_ chocolate, devi. I don't know what's in there, and I'm not taking any chances, devi."

Ace uncovered his face and smiled sympathetically, noticing that Tamazo looked upset. "Tamazo worked hard on that chocolate for you, Devi. He was even being secretive about it. You could at least try one bite of it."

Devi looked over at Ace, surprised that he was talking to him. He glanced at the chocolate in Tamazo's arm before looking over at Lance, hesitant.

Lance nodded, giving him a look. He looked over at Tamazo. "Thank you."

Devi reluctantly nodded and looked over at Tamazo, accepting the chocolate. "… Thank you, devi."

Tamazo smiled cheerfully. "Tama knows it'll taste delicious, tama. Tama ate some of the extra pieces this morning, tama."

Devi rolled his eyes, unsurprised. "Of course you already ate some, devi."

Tamazo's eyes widened, belatedly remembering something. "That's right, tama. I have to leave, tama."

Everyone else blinked, surprised.

"Leave? Where are you going, Tamazo?" Ace said, confused.

"Tama is going to make it up to Ace!"

Ace belatedly remembered what happened that morning and understood what Tamazo was talking about. "I told you that it's alright, Tamazo."

Tamazo shook his head, looking upset. "It's not alright, tama! You can't stop me, Ace!" Before anyone else could say anything, he flew off in the direction of Crocus.

"Wait, Tamazo. Come back," Ace said, raising his free hand in futile protest.

But Tamazo either didn't seem to hear him, or he was ignoring him since he didn't even glance back at Ace.

Noticing Ace's frown as he slowly let the hand fall back to his side, Lance looked over at Devi. "Devi. Go after him. I don't want him to cause trouble."

Devi almost groaned, wanting to protest. But he remembered an earlier conversation with Lance and knew his master wanted some privacy with Ace. "… Yes, Lance-sama." He looked over at Ace, narrowing his eyes. "Oi, you! You better look after Lance-sama while I'm gone, devi."

Lance shook his head. "That's not necessary, Devi."

Surprisingly, Ace nodded, eyes expressing determination. "I understand. I'll protect him."

Lance looked back at Ace, surprised.

"You better, devi," Devi said, glaring. After one last glance at Lance, he reluctantly flew after Tamazo.

Lance shook his head once more, unable to stop the fond look from appearing as he watched Devi leave. "Idiot."

After Devi left, it was silent for several moments before Lance looked at Ace, eyebrow raising.

Understanding that he was asking what happened, Ace rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. "Because Tamazo didn't tell me who he was making chocolate for, I assumed that he was only making it for Devi. I didn't find out until this morning that he made some for me."

Lance could guess what happened next. "He ate the chocolate meant for you?"

"He said that it was an accident and that he misjudged how many chocolates he had left. I told him that it was alright, but he refused to listen and sulked until lunchtime," Ace said, huffing.

Lance bit back his chuckle at the adorable pout on the other's face. "That guy is a good match for you."

"What? How is Tamazo a good match for me? We're not alike," Ace squawked.

"You two are alike in some ways, but you don't have to be alike to be a good match."

Ace looked at Lance, unconvinced. "You think so?"

Lance's eyes noticed the red gift bag in Ace's free hand and decided to change the subject. "You made chocolate?"

The _for me_ was implied, but it still made Ace's cheeks heat up.

"D-Don't get the wrong idea. I made chocolate for all of my friends," he said, lifting the red gift bag to chest level. He pointed at the older boy with his free hand. "Don't think you are special just because I made chocolate for you."

But Lance only smirked, amused. "Is that so?"

"Y-Yeah." Ace shook his head, clearing his throat. "I mean… Yeah. Of course it is like that," he said in a louder voice.

He inwardly groaned. Why was he denying it? Wasn't he supposed to confess to Lance?

He blamed Tamazo.

He had felt ready to confess when Tamazo had cut into their conversation, making his courage disappear.

Lance nodded, still smirking. "I see."

Noticing that Lance was patiently waiting for the chocolate, Ace cursed silently, deciding to get it over with.

He looked at the bag and reached into it, pulling out a clear gift bag.

(It was a bit awkward, doing it one-handed. Lance even looked like he was about to let go of his hand, but Ace stopped him from moving away, making Lance feel smug.)

Compared to the other gift bags, this one had blue ribbon tied into a bow wrapped around the top of it and a blue water drop sticker on the front of it. Inside the bag was three square shaped chocolates.

The chocolate inside this bag, though, was dark chocolate.

Ace didn't know if Lance liked chocolate, and as he was making it, he decided to use dark chocolate to make Lance's chocolate.

Maybe he would like the taste of it more than milk chocolate?

The chocolates also had small snowflake designs on the top of them. He used piped white frosting to make the snowflake designs.

He had made the frosting as light as he could, not wanting the frosting to distract Lance from the bittersweet taste of the chocolate.

Lance's eyes widened at the sight of the chocolate. His eyes quickly returned to their normal calm state. Even he could tell that Ace worked hard on it.

Oblivious to Lance's reaction, Ace held out the clear gift bag, looking up at him shyly and feeling his heart race.

Lance reached out with his free hand, accepting it. He looked down at the chocolate, unable to stop the rare gentle smile from forming. He looked up at Ace, resisting the urge to smirk at his pink cheeks and wide-eyed look. He cleared his throat, unable to make the soft fond look in his eyes completely disappear. "Thank you, Ace."

Ace coughed, looking away. "It's no problem." He paused for several moments before speaking in a softer voice. "I want to tell you something."

Lance stepped closer, noticing with amusement how Ace's eyes looked back at him. "What is it?"

Ace looked into Lance's eyes, feeling nervous. Lance gave him an encouraging look, but he knew Lance would wait patiently if he asked. He breathed in deeply before letting it out, feeling the courage from earlier return. "Do you remember a couple of months ago? When I visited you?"

It was a stupid question because he knew Lance would remember, but he couldn't take it back now.

Lance nodded, unable to stop his amused smirk. "Of course. I remember the morning after as well."

Ace almost let out a squeak at the mention of the morning after, unable to stop his face turning pink much to Lance's amusement.

He had woken up the next morning to find himself snuggled into Lance's chest with Lance's arms wrapped around him. While he had felt embarrassed and confused at their position at first, he had admitted to himself that he hadn't wanted to leave Lance's embrace yet.

When Lance had finally woken up, he had immediately flushed pink, already pulling away from Lance and apologizing.

Lance had stopped him before he could leave with a hand on his wrist, giving him an intense but unreadable look.

When Ace had asked if there was something wrong, Lance had reluctantly let go, feeling disappointment but not letting it show.

Feeling confused by Lance's behavior, Ace had looked around awkwardly for a few moments before squeaking out a good bye and walked away to leave the room.

Before he could leave, though, Tamazo had flown into the room, holding the picture from his dad's room.

Tamazo had declared that it was something he wanted Lance to see, and while Ace had protested and tried to steal the picture from Tamazo, he didn't succeed.

Devi had flown into the room, scolding Tamazo for being noisy and waking up Lance.

Lance had raised an eyebrow at the sight of the picture.

He had felt amused by Ace's reaction to him looking at the picture, noticing that it was a baby picture of Ace. It had made him wonder if this was one of King's pictures.

The picture itself was cute. But it also made him think of his own parents and the countless pictures of his family that had disappeared due to the Drop Impact, unable to stop the small nostalgic smile from forming on his face.

His grandma had called that it was time for breakfast, making Ace turn away and answer her.

Because of that, though, he had missed Lance's reaction to the picture.

When he had looked back at Lance, Lance had an amused smirk on his face as he held out the picture to Ace.

Ace had accepted the picture, muttering his thanks and looking away.

They hadn't spoken of that morning or the night before since then.

"Uh… Well, it was at that moment… No, wait. It was before that," Ace said.

Lance smirked, amused by Ace's behavior. He was perfectly willing to wait for Ace to spit out whatever was on his mind.

"These… uh feelings for you… What I mean is…" Ace paused, inwardly groaning at how his confession was going. "I-I told you that night that I can't lose you. And I meant that."

Lance smiled a small smile, amusement in his eyes. "Me too… _Ace_." Ace couldn't help but shiver at the way Lance said his name, making Lance feel smug.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that you've always been in front of me, helping me and pushing me to do my best. At some point, I started… uh thinking about you more," Ace said, resisting the urge to look away and cover his face.

Lance had the nerve to smirk at him, obviously feeling pleased and smug that he was feeding his ego.

 _Arrogant jerk_.

Ace opened his mouth to say the important three words, but his response died in his throat, feeling embarrassed and nervous. He closed his mouth, glancing away from Lance before looking back at him, unconsciously asking for help.

Lance's smirk remained on his face, noticing that Ace was asking for help. He supposed he could help him.

But just giving in without a fight… It didn't sit right with him.

"You were really annoying at first, and I wanted nothing to do with you."

Ace's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean? I didn't like you that much at first either. I thought you were just an arrogant showoff."

"The only redeeming quality about you was that you cared about monsters," Lance said, ignoring Ace.

"What do you mean 'only redeeming quality'? And of course I care about monsters," Ace said, glaring.

Still ignoring Ace, he let go of his hand. Ace blinked, surprise and a little hurt in his blue eyes. Lance felt guilt pool in his stomach at noticing the hurt, but he knew that what he was about to do would make that hurt disappear.

After making sure he had Ace's attention, he raised the clear gift bag that Ace gave him. Ace furrowed his brow, not understanding why Lance was showing him the chocolate. Blue eyes widened as he started untying the bow and opening the bag.

"W-Wait, Lance. You don't have to eat that if you don't want to."

Lance shook his head, giving him an impish smirk. "Be quiet and watch. You wanted me to help you, right?"

Ace gaped at him for a few moments before narrowing his eyes once more, inwardly hating the way that impish smirk made Lance more attractive than he already was. "What are you talking about? I don't need your help."

It was seemingly on instinct to argue with Lance (even if he didn't know what Lance was trying to help him with).

Ignoring Ace's retort, Lance picked out a chocolate. Keeping his eyes on Ace, he took a small bite.

He didn't let it show on his face, but it tasted delicious.

The bittersweet taste of the chocolate mixed with the light, sweet taste of the piped frosting well, and while it didn't taste too sweet, it didn't taste too bitter either.

A perfect balance.

Ace gulped nervously, awaiting his reaction. Did Lance like it?

He was certain his chocolate turned out delicious, but what about the flavors of everything?

Maybe the piped frosting was too much?

Lance bit back a smirk at Ace's reaction, knowing that he wanted to know what he thought of it. Wanting to draw it out a little bit longer, he gestured to the chocolate with his eyes. "Have you tasted these yet?"

Ace felt his stomach drop, feeling worried. Why was Lance asking him about the taste? He reluctantly shook his head, hoping that Lance would tell him his thoughts soon. "No. Those were made specially for you."

He had only made Lance's chocolate with the dark chocolate. Maybe he should've tasted it beforehand?

Lance nodded, unsurprised. "I see." He ate the rest of chocolate that he bit into, and after swallowing, he waited for a few moments before speaking again. "You should try them." He held one of the chocolates out, gesturing with his eyes for Ace to take it.

Ace's hand reached out of its own accord, but he belatedly realized what he was doing and pulled it back to his side, quickly shaking his head. "Those are for you. I can't eat them."

Lance raised an eyebrow. "Not even if I want you to?"

Ace's eyes widened, breath catching in his throat at the expectant look in those beautiful golden eyes. He quickly shook his head once more, unable to speak.

Lance nodded, unable to stop the smirk from forming.

Well, if he was honest with himself, he thought Ace would take the chocolate.

But he didn't mind.

In fact, he was going to take advantage of the situation.

He ate the chocolate, his now free hand reaching out. He grabbed Ace's free hand and pulled him closer, Ace letting out a surprised noise to his amusement.

Ace narrowed his eyes, about to question him on what he was doing, but before any words could escape his mouth, Lance leaned in and kissed Ace on the lips.

Ace froze at the contact, feeling his heart racing. Lance's lips were warmer and softer than he could've imagined. He let out a soft moan as Lance pressed harder, encouraging him to respond.

His eyes closed, arms wrapping around his rival's back and responded to the kiss. His lips moved softly and hesitantly at first, but Lance's lips pressing harder encouraged him, responding enthusiastically with as much passion as Lance was giving him.

Lance wrapped his arms around Ace's waist, unable to stop his smirk at Ace's moan and enthusiastic response. He fought for control of the kiss, tightening his grip on the younger boy's waist.

Ace moaned softly at losing the fight and at Lance tightening his grip. He wouldn't say it out loud, but he knew he had a weakness for Lance taking control. It just seemed so natural for the older boy to take control, and he found himself not minding at all. There was definitely something appealing and irresistible about it.

But he wouldn't give up on trying to take control.

Lance was his rival, and he didn't want to lose to him.

Although judging by this kiss, maybe it was appropriate to call him something else.

His body trembled as Lance's tongue darted out and licked his lower lip, already feeling his knees go weak at the motion. Not wanting to collapse and have to break the kiss (especially after they just started), he tightened his hold on the older boy.

Sensing the kiss was making Ace lose his balance, Lance decided to move things further. He couldn't have Ace collapse without getting what he originally kissed him for.

He licked Ace's lower lip once more, silently asking permission. Ace slowly parted his lips, allowing Lance's tongue inside his mouth.

Ace moaned as Lance's tongue moved inside his mouth, touching different parts of his mouth. It felt like something was burning inside him with every touch. Lance playfully touched his tongue with his own, teasing Ace and coaxing him to respond. When Ace finally responded, Lance's tongue retreated, forcing Ace's to follow.

Ace was about to let out a frustrated moan as Lance's tongue retreated, but Lance opening his mouth and encouraging Ace to move his tongue inside his mouth made him have second thoughts. He eagerly darted forward into Lance's mouth, moaning as he could taste the bittersweet chocolate and the light, sweet taste of the frosting lingering in his rival's mouth.

 _That tasted good_.

But as much as Ace wanted to continue kissing Lance, his body protested at the lack of air, making him feel lightheaded and forcing him to reluctantly pull away.

Their breathing was erratic, and both boy's cheeks were pink.

Blue dazed eyes opened, looking at Lance. Ace struggled to catch his breath, still feeling lightheaded and weak in the knees. " _Lance_ …"

Before Lance could respond, though, Ace's knees gave out, causing the younger boy to desperately hold onto Lance's back lest he wanted to fall and hit the ground.

"Ace?" Lance tightened his grip, lowering them to the ground.

Once their knees touched the grass, Ace eased up on his grip but still held on, refusing to completely let go.

Golden eyes looked into dazed blue eyes, giving him a soft, tender look. "Are you alright?"

It was unfair, Ace thought to himself while desperately breathing in air. It was unfair how easily Lance regained his composure. Besides the light pink in his cheeks and his breathing when he had pulled away, it was as if Lance appeared unaffected by the kiss.

It made him feel annoyed.

And if he didn't feel so weak and lightheaded at the moment, he would've kissed Lance again and try to make him feel the same way Lance was making him feel right now.

Lance felt smug at the reaction he caused. While he certainly didn't expect Ace's knees to give out, he didn't mind.

It was a good excuse to hold onto Ace.

And he knew Ace felt the same way.

"Are you alright?"

Ace blinked at the question, surprised. "Yeah. I'm alright." He blinked a few times, belatedly remembering what happened. His eyes narrowed. "What was that for?"

Lance blinked before giving him a smirk. "I was letting you taste the chocolate."

"You…! Don't lead me on like that." When Lance only gave him a confused look, Ace dug his fingernails into Lance's cloak. "You had me worried about the taste."

Lance didn't even wince as Ace dug his fingernails into his cloak. "Oh, that. It tastes good."

Resisting the urge to brush the hair away from his face agitatedly, Ace scowled. "It's too late for that."

Lance chuckled at the annoyed look on his face, unable to stop himself from leaning in and kissing Ace on the forehead. Pulling back slowly, he smirked, pleased as Ace looked away.

"S-Stop that. And what was that about helping me? I never asked for any kind of help."

Lance raised an eyebrow. It was no surprise that Ace didn't know what he was talking about. "You asked for help with your confession." When Ace only spluttered and didn't say anything intelligent, he nodded. "It's no problem."

"I wasn't thanking you!"

Lance chuckled, unable to stop himself from leaning in and kissing Ace on the forehead once more. Pulling back, he looked at Ace with a soft, fond look. "I love you."

Ace's face turned pink to Lance's amusement. The younger boy looked away, muttering something.

Lance's sharp ears easily picked up what he muttered, and while Ace's words made him happy, it wasn't enough for him.

Ace wasn't allowed to cop out.

Not after everything he went through and with how much he helped him.

"What did you say?"

Muttering about how evil Lance was, Ace looked back at Lance, speaking in a louder voice. "I said I love you too!"

And even though it must've hurt with how close Lance was to him, he didn't even wince at the volume. Lance only gave him a soft, happy smile, feeling tempted to kiss him again.

But he could feel Ace's body still trembling underneath him, making him wonder if he overdid it.

He dismissed the thought, finding it ridiculous. He smirked an impish smirk.

Ace wasn't going to be moving on his own anytime soon.

Might as well take advantage of the situation.

He moved his arms, moving one arm around Ace's shoulders and the other under his knees. Ace furrowed his brow, about to question him, but he didn't get a chance as Lance stood up with him in his arms.

Ace gasped, desperately holding onto Lance's shoulders. "W-What are you doing?"

Lance raised an eyebrow, smirking an impish smirk. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Let go! I can walk on my own."

Lance shook his head, still smirking. "I don't think so." When Ace opened his mouth to protest once more, he shot him a pointed look, causing Ace to close his mouth. "Be quiet. Let me help you."

Ace scowled, letting go of Lance's shoulders and crossing his arms. "Fine. Don't expect this to happen again. I'll catch up to you soon."

Lance smirked, amused and started walking. While he didn't doubt Ace's words, a part of him wanted it to happen again.

Lance had only taken a few steps away from the tree when Ace gasped.

Lance stopped, looking down at him and raising an eyebrow. "What is it?"

Ace groaned, tempted to bury his face in Lance's shoulder. "I completely forgot about Ana! What am I going to do?"

If Lance took him back to his grandma's house now, Ana would see them. And he knew she wanted to confess to Lance.

What was he going to do?

Lance blinked, surprised at the mention of the pink haired girl. "Ana is here?"

Ace nodded, looking guilty. "I met up with her earlier today. She was looking for you."

"Why?"

Ace looked away, muttering his answer.

Lance's ears picked up the mutter, causing him to frown. Ana wanted to confess to him?

He didn't even know that she liked him that way.

"We'll think of something."

Ace's eyes widened, looking back at Lance. "We?"

Lance raised an eyebrow. "We're in this together. If we can't think of anything, I'll tell her the truth."

Ace looked at him relieved before nodding. "Alright. If that happens, I'll stay with you."

But Lance shook his head. "It's better if you're not there."

Ace frowned. "But I want to be there. I want to support you. I promise I won't get in the way. I'll stand off to the side… or something."

Lance's eyes darkened, a scowl on his face. "You don't get in the way."

Ace blinked a few times, confused. He smiled a soft smile. "Thank you, Lance. I still want to be there."

"I'll think about it."

Ace frowned, letting out a huff as Lance looked away from him, the older boy starting to walk once more.

Lance was so stubborn at times.

But he wouldn't be Lance if he wasn't stubborn.

And he loved Lance (even when he was being stubborn).

ZZZ

When they arrived at his grandma's house, Ace blinked, surprised to see two things.

One was a triple layer chocolate cake with his name on it laid on the kitchen table.

The other was that Ana wasn't there.

"Where's Ana?" Ace said, confused.

Angine walked into the room, smiling at the sight of Ace in Lance's arms. "Unfortunately, Ana had to go home. Poor girl. She wanted to stay for dinner, but she had to leave." She picked up a small bag that laid on the table near the couch. "Lance. She left some chocolate for you."

Lance resisted the urge to frown at the mention of Ana's chocolate, feeling Ace tense in his arms. "Thank you very much. I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner."

He would have to talk to Ace later about their relationship.

But at the same time, he could understand that Ace was having a hard time remembering that he loved _him_. Not Ana.

"It's fine. I didn't mind. You're going to have to talk to her the next time she visits, though."

Lance nodded, cursing inwardly at the way Ace was frowning. "Of course."

Before he could say anything to Ace, though, Ace pointed to the triple layer chocolate cake. "Did you make that, Grandma? Or did Mom make it?"

Angine shook her head. "Tamazo made it for you."

Ace gaped at her before turning his head to look at the cake, wide-eyed. "Tamazo made it for _me_?"

Since when did Tamazo know how to make a triple layer chocolate cake?

Was he expected to eat all of it?

Tamazo would have no problem eating it by himself, but him?

Speaking of the gluttonous Tamadora…

Ace looked around curiously for his partner, surprised not to see him. "Where's Tamazo?"

Angine laughed softly. "He and Devi worked hard on that cake, so they are taking a nap. I'm sure they'll wake up in time for dinner."

Ace nodded. That sounded like Tamazo and Devi.

Angine gave him a knowing look, noticing that he was still in Lance's arms. Ace looked away at the knowing look. Thankfully, his grandma didn't say anything, instead turning to the kitchen. "I should start preparing dinner." She walked away, smiling.

Once Angine walked away, Ace looked up at Lance, poking him in the shoulder. "Put me down."

Lance looked down at him, surprised. "Why?" When Ace spluttered, he gave him an impish smirk. "Be quiet. I'm enjoying this."

"S-Stop that! Put me down."

Lance pretended to think for a few moments before shaking his head. "You still haven't thanked me."

Ace narrowed his eyes. "Thanked you for what?"

"For helping you."

"You…! That was your fault!" Ace squawked.

Lance nodded. "It's no problem."

"I wasn't thanking you!"

Lance chuckled, leaning down to kiss Ace on the forehead, delighting in the way Ace's cheeks flushed pink.

Ace was being stubborn, but he knew Ace loved him.

He pulled away, looking at the chocolate cake.

Speaking of chocolate…

He still had one chocolate square that Ace gave him.

Maybe he could convince Ace to help him finish it later.

 **ZZZZZZZZZZZZ**

 **Author Notes:** I hope you all enjoyed this story.

This turned out much longer than I wanted it to. If I had more time to write it, I would've put in some more Ace and Lance scenes or even Angine and/or Rena teasing Ace. I also thought about adding in a scene where Lance confronts Ace about his injuries and tells Ace to take off his clothes, so Lance can look at them.

I'm not sure if everyone is in character. It was my first time writing Haru and Ana. I did my best trying to write them in character.

Speaking of them… I really wanted to include them into my Valentine's Day story because in Japan, Valentine's Day is mostly a holiday for the girls. And I wanted to add that into my story. I was going to try and think up some Dragonoid tradition for Valentine's Day, but I didn't have enough time. Maybe I can write about it next year.

I'm not an expert on cooking or baking, so if anything didn't make sense, I apologize.

The next time we see each other, it'll be for White Day. White Day will be during my spring break, so I'll have time to write a sequel to this story. I'm thinking that it'll have Ace and Lance's first date in it.

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day.

See you next time!


End file.
